Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held his first phone call with Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen, and according to a Pentagon readout of the Jan. 30 call, "The two officials reiterated the importance of deepening defense cooperation to strengthen deterrence and to advance a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
The two also discussed their interest in modernizing the alliance between the United States and Japan, including expanding a bilateral presence on Japan's Southwestern Islands.
The call came just a few days after the American and Japanese militaries held their first downed pilot exercise. More than fifty representatives from the US Army Japan, the South Kanto Defense Bureau, and Zama and Sagamihara cities were in attendance for the tabletop exercise.
In the training scenario, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter made a hard landing outside Camp Zama in Japan, initiating a series of events in response.
"This is an opportunity for us to be able to plan and prepare and ensure that our systems are all synchronized," Col. Marcus Hunter explained.
The point of the exercise was to identify gaps in their response to such an incident so that they can be corrected in training and ensure that the entire response, recovery, and investigation are conducted properly.
"We would like to ensure the safety of our residents and also know how we can better interact with the U.S. military if an aircraft mishap occurred," said emergency manager Marushi Fukuda with the Zama City Fire Department. “And I also think it is very important to rescue the crew of the aircraft, so we would want to respond quickly.”