Washington (AFP) - President Joe Biden and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida touted Tokyo's beefed-up military posture during White House talks Friday as part of a deepening alliance to maintain stability in the increasingly tense Asia-Pacific.
Hosting Kishida in the Oval Office, Biden said the countries' "shared democratic values are the source of our strength, the source of our alliance."
He said they would be discussing "modernizing our military alliance" and welcomed "Japan's historic increase in defense spending and new national security strategy."
"Let me be crystal clear: the United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance and more importantly to Japan’s defense," Biden said.
In December, Japan shook up its defense strategy with a pledge to increase spending to two percent of GDP by 2027, adding more muscular capabilities in the face of a rising China and unpredictable, nuclear-armed North Korea.
"Japan and the United States are currently facing the most challenging and complex security environment in recent history," Kishida told Biden.
The new Japanese defense posture will "ensure peace and prosperity in the region," he said.
"Japan decided upon fundamentally reinforcing our defense capabilities, including possessing counterstrike capabilities," he said.
China threats in space
Japan has been officially pacifist since its defeat in World War II but has increasingly shed past sensitivities as China exerts itself and North Korea accelerates its missile testing program, firing long-range weapons, including some crossing Japanese territory.
Japan is hosting this year's G7 and Kishida is visiting all bloc members except Germany on a trip capped by talks with Biden.
On Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada in Washington, while the Japanese foreign minister has also met his US counterpart.
The flurry of diplomacy is dovetailing with plans for a military shopping spree -- as well as ramped-up US military presence in the Asia Pacific, including a new Marines unit on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
For the first time, Washington and Tokyo warned this week that their mutual defense treaty could now encompass attacks "to, from or within space" -- a clear reference to concerns over advances by China in satellite technology.
This was Kishida's first White House visit since becoming prime minister.But he and Biden have already been in close cooperation over the coordinated response in helping Ukraine to fight back against the Russian invasion.
"We're stepping up to hold Putin accountable for his unprovoked war in Ukraine and I want to thank you, thank you for your strong leadership on this from the first conversation," Biden said.
