The Japanese and U.S. governments are arranging for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and President Barack Obama to promote "dynamic defense cooperation" in a joint statement after their summit Monday in Washington, sources said.
The aim is to enhance deterrence with an eye to engaging China, whose navy is becoming increasingly active. This would be done by strengthening cooperation on surveillance between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, with an emphasis on mobility and readiness in Okinawa and the other Nansei Islands, the sources said Saturday.
Noda, who was slated to depart on Sunday, also intends to work closely with Obama to prevent North Korea from conducting its third nuclear test following a failed rocket launch earlier this month.