Japan and the United States have agreed that Tokyo's landmark decision to reinterpret the Constitution to expand the role of its armed forces should be reflected in new bilateral defense cooperation guidelines due out by the end of the year.

After talks Friday with Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington "strongly supports" what he said was a historic decision by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lift the government's long-held ban on collective self-defense.

"This bold, historic, landmark decision will enable Japan to significantly increase its contribution to regional and global security and expand its role on the world stage," Hagel told a joint news conference.