
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi plans to visit the United States, possibly in mid-February, to hold discussions with his new counterpart Antony Blinken, amid China's military rise and North Korea's nuclear development, government sources said Wednesday.
In phone talks hours after Blinken won Senate confirmation as the U.S. Secretary of State, Motegi said they agreed to bolster the alliance between the two countries and achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, sharing the view that the regional security situation is becoming increasingly severe.