Japan's Kishida, ahead of US trip, seeks stronger military ties with Washington and other partners

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he wants to strengthen military and weapons development cooperation with the United States as well as with other countries such as the Philippines, as he prepares for a visit to the US next week to meet with President Joe Biden. "Defence industry cooperation between Japan and the United States, as well as with like-minded countries, are extremely important," Kishida said in an interview Friday with selected foreign media, including The Associated Press, at the Prime Minister's Office. "Within the Japan-US alliance, I do hope to steadily improve deterrence and response capability," he said….