US Defense Secretary Austin looks forward to deeper cooperation with Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday said he looked forward to deepening cooperation with Japan, along with South Korea and Australia.

Before meeting Austin in Tokyo, Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that Japan and the U.S. needed to strengthen cooperation in the face of North Korean missile launches.

Austin is set to meet his Japanese counterpart on Thursday in a stopover in Japan on his way to Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit.

He will also visit India and France.

(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Tom Hogue)