Japan-United States of America Relations
Japan-U.S. Summit Telephone Talk
On Wednesday, today, commencing at 10:00 a.m. for approximately 25 minutes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a telephone talk with the Honorable Barack H.Obama, President of the United States of America. The overview is as follows. (Also in attendance were Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko, Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat Shotaro Yachi, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Akitaka Saiki and others).
1. Prime Minister Abe and President Obama confirmed that the outbreak of Ebola virus disease poses a threat to the peace and security of the international community, and is the challenge which the international community should address in a unified manner. Prime Minister Abe explained the assistance that Japan had provided so far to address the problem, and explained his intention to accelerate support measures of all kinds, to ensure that support is provided in a seamless manner that is visible to the local population. In response to this, President Obama expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support, and they agreed that Japan and the United States would continue to work together closely in tackling this issue.
2. Prime Minister Abe and President Obama confirmed their goal of bringing TPP negotiations to an early conclusion. They shared the recognition of the current state of the negotiations and agreed to continue to cooperate for an early conclusion of the negotiations.
3. Prime Minister Abe and President Obama welcomed the recent announcement of the interim report of the review of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation. Prime Minister Abe stated that it is important to continue to provide careful explanations both domestically and abroad regarding the review of the Guidelines, and to make an effort to promote its understanding.
4. In addition, Prime Minister Abe and President Obama also exchanged views regarding the situation in East Asia.