Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, agreed Sunday to accelerate efforts to strengthen the alliance's deterrence amid China's growing assertiveness in the region while affirming progress in upgrading command frameworks for smoother coordination between the two countries' forces.The agreement, reached during Hegseth's first visit to Japan as Pentagon chief, underscored the strength of bilateral ties even under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which has raised concerns about straining the longstanding alliance with demands for increased d…READ FULL ARTICLE
