
WASHINGTON -- Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and American counterpart Lloyd Austin agreed on Wednesday to maintain U.S. nuclear deterrence and align the two nations' security strategies in light of new challenges that emerged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's baseless and "reckless invasion of Ukraine is an affront to the rules-based international order, and it poses a challenge to free people everywhere," Austin said at the start of the 75-minute meeting.