With reference to the collision between two U.S. military aircraft off the coast of Kochi Prefecture, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty in a meeting in Tokyo’s Akasaka district on Dec. 7 that Japan is “making its best effort to rescue the (missing) crew members as soon as possible.” In response, Ambassador Hagerty expressed gratitude, saying “I wholeheartedly appreciate Japan’s support in the search and rescue of the crew members.”