U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday for talks with Japanese leaders, with Tokyo-Washington coordination against the growing North Korean missile and nuclear threat expected to be high on the agenda.
During a planned meeting on Thursday afternoon, Tillerson and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to affirm the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance following missile launches by North Korea earlier this month, Japanese officials said. The visit is Tillerson's first to Japan since assuming his post on Feb. 1,
"It is extremely important that Japan and the United States closely and frequently communicate given the changing security environment in the region," Kishida told reporters on Tuesday.