Japan and the United States agreed to tighten their security ties Tuesday, pledging to share more ballistic missile defense and other military data and to conclude a treaty to more comprehensively protect military information.
In a joint statement released after the "two-plus-two" security talks, the foreign and defense ministers from both countries said the bilateral alliance complements NATO in contributing to world peace and stability and Japan would engage in more extensive cooperation with NATO.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma and their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, were scheduled to give a joint news conference later in the day.
The ministers reached a substantive agreement to conclude a general security of military information agreement to allow for the exchange of top secret information and to oblige both sides to guard the shared data.