Japan Ministerial

On June 21, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa for a Security Consultative Committee (SCC) meeting, at the State Department, said Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan.

"As part of the SCC meeting, informally known as the 2+2 Ministerial, the ministers will release a comprehensive joint statement articulating common strategic objectives and efforts to enhance the U.S.-Japan alliance. Demonstrating the breadth and depth of the alliance, the officials will discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Afghanistan, missile defense technology transfer, and realignment of our forces in Okinawa," Lapan said. "This is the first such meeting in four years, and builds upon the progress that the U.S.-Japan alliance has made over the past half-century."