Japan approves of United States-led airstrikes in the fight against Islamic State militants and supports a coalition headed by Washington, Tokyo's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Japan "understands the U.S. move is intended to prevent the situation from getting even worse," said Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, referring to U.S.-led bombing of targets in Syrian territory.

He was speaking to reporters in New York after talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.