Newly appointed Defense Agency director general Toshitsugu Saito said Wednesday that he hopes to visit the United States at the earliest opportunity to hold talks with his counterpart after the January launch of the new U.S. administration.

"As the Japan-U.S. bilateral security system is the core (of Japan's security policy)," Saito said, "I believe we have been given the task of confirming it and maintaining it."

The major task in front of Saito is drafting the nation's next midterm defense program, which will be for the five years beginning April 1.