Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi used a series of meetings during a regional summit of defense chiefs over the weekend to push for deepened cooperation with partners and allies — all while expressing concern to his Chinese counterpart over Beijing’s military moves near Japan.
Koizumi held talks on Sunday with New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins on the sidelines of meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia, with the Japanese defense chief saying that Wellington again expressed interest in acquiring Japans Mogami-class destroyers.
But Koizumi also said that Tokyo had "identified a concrete demand" for Japanese defense gear from a number of countries.
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