The U.S. and Japan are close to signing a new five-year pact for Japan to support U.S. military forces in the country and a new agreement to research and develop new defense technologies, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met virtually with their Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo amid rising tensions between the allies and China. –Agencies
