Japan and the United States confirmed their intention to reinforce security cooperation at a meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in Tokyo on July 28.

The bilateral two-plus-two talks involved Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Defense Minister Kihara Minoru from Japan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin from the United States.

The US side expressed intention to reconstitute the country's military forces in Japan as a joint force headquarters to facilitate deeper interoperability and cooperation with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

The four also held the first ministerial-level meeting on extended deterrence, in which the United States commits to the defense of Japan using capabilities that include nuclear weapons.

The move came as countries like China, Russia and North Korea are working on strengthening their nuclear capabilities.

Kamikawa Yoko, Japanese Foreign Minister / To uphold international order, we must deepen and develop our alliance and heighten deterrence.

Kihara Minoru, Japanese Defense Minister / To address the growing security challenges in the region, it is important to optimize the force structure of our alliance.

Through the two-plus-two talks, Japan apparently wanted to set in stone the moves to strengthen bilateral security cooperation ahead of the US presidential election.

A Japanese government official emphasized the importance of confirming the direction of cooperation in bilateral foreign affairs and security with the United States no matter who the country's leader is.

Nippon TV reporter / A senior Foreign Ministry official said Japan will prepare so that there will not be any impact regardless of who becomes the US president. The Japanese government wants to establish the policy of reinforcing cooperation as a default route.