Press Releases
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tsuji received a courtesy call by General Van Ovost, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command
December 18, 2023
On December 18, 2023, commencing at 11:30am, for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. TSUJI Kiyoto, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, received a courtesy call from Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, during her visit to Japan. The overview of the courtesy call is as follows.
- At the outset, State Minister Tsuji welcomed the visit of General Van Ovost and expressed his deepest condolences for the loss of CV-22 Osprey crew members due to the crash on November 29 and expressed his sympathy to their families. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the members of the U.S. forces for their daily efforts to ensure the peace and security of Japan and the surrounding region. He then stated that the Japan-U.S. Alliance is the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, and against this backdrop, we would like to make sure that Japan and the U.S. will work together to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of our Alliance. In response, General Van Ovost stated that she would like to continue Japan-U.S. cooperation for peace and stability in the region.
- They shared serious concerns about the increasingly severe security environment in the region and also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. They exchanged views on Japan-U.S. security and defense cooperation to strengthen the Alliance deterrence and response capabilities and concurred that they will contribute to strengthen deterrence and response capabilities in the region through promoting efforts such as enhancing logistics capabilities including transportation capabilities.