Press Releases
Exchange of Views Between Foreign Minister Kishida and U.S. Ambassador Kennedy
On December 19, commencing at 5:15 p.m. for approximately 45 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, exchanged opinions with Ms. Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. Foreign Minister Kishida and Ambassador Kennedy reviewed Japan-U.S. cooperation under the Abe and Obama administrations for the past four years and discussed Japan-U.S. cooperation for the future. Foreign Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Kennedy’s support, specifically for G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima. In response, Ambassador Kennedy expressed her gratitude to close cooperation with Foreign Minister Kishida and the Japanese government.
2. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and that of rock-solid Japan-US alliance built up in the past four years, and agreed to collaborate for Prime Minister Abe’s successful visit to Hawaii in the end of the year. In addition, they agreed to continue their cooperation to strengthen Japan-US alliance. Furthermore, both sides discussed various issues including regional situations by referring to diplomatic history of Post-World War II.
3. Regarding the accident of the US MV-22 Osprey on December 13, Foreign Minister Kishida requested Ambassador Kennedy to continuously provide sufficient information.