Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in the city of Hiroshima on Sunday afternoon.
A Japanese government source said the two sides discussed defense and diplomatic ties and confirmed January's meetings between British and Japanese foreign and defense officials, in which both sides expressed grave concern over North Korea's continued development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and opposition to any coercive or unilateral actions in the South China Sea, such as large-scale land reclamation, that could change the status quo.
The two sides also discussed economic issues, and called for an early conclusion of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement and the Strategic Partnership Agreement.