New Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Saturday to realize an early visit to the United States by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for his first summit.
In Hayashi's first talks with a foreign counterpart since assuming the post Wednesday, the two top diplomats also agreed to bolster bilateral alliance and make efforts toward a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" region amid China's assertiveness, the Foreign Ministry said.
The two affirmed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait during the phone talks, while seeking to hold a so-called two-plus-two meeting involving the two allies' defense and foreign ministers as early as possible.