NHK reported that National Security Secretariat Secretary General Akiba, who is visiting Washington, met with Secretary of Defense Austin on Tuesday. The network said the two officials agreed that the U.S. and Japan will continue to work closely to further strengthen the deterrence and response capability of the U.S.-Japan alliance in light of the increasingly severe security environment in the Indo-Pacific region. They also reportedly exchanged views on the situation in the East and South China Seas, efforts toward a free and open Indo-Pacific, and challenges facing the two nations in strengthening the alliance.