On April 11 (Wed), from 2:10pm for approximately 20 minutes, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura received a courtesy call from Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, who is currently visiting Japan. The following is an overview of the meeting. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tsuyoshi Saito and Mr. Takeo Akiba, Deputy Director-General, North American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others from the Japanese side, and by Dr. John V. Roos, Ambassador of the United States to Japan and Lt. Gen. Burton M. Field, Commander of U.S. Forces Japan, and others from the U.S. side.

1. In opening statement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura once again expressed  Japan's appreciation for the tremendous assistance provided by U.S. Forces through Operation Tomodachi, noting that such assistance led  the people of Japan tostrongly recognized the necessity of the Japan-U.S. Alliance more than ever. Admiral Locklear responded by expressing his sympathies for the people affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and noted that the success of Operation Tomodachi was due to the friendship, mutual respect and alliance relationship that exist between Japan and the United States and that the response by the Self-Defense Forces has also been excellent.
   
   
2. Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura also stated that the Japan-U.S. Alliance is public goods of the Asia-Pacific region and that it is important for Japan and the United States to share responsibility as they engage in regional and global challenges, including a response to the recent situation in North Korea. In response, Admiral Locklear stated that further strengthening of Japan-U.S. relations is a high priority matter and pledged to work to strengthen relations himself.
   
   
3. Both sides confirmed that they share a common recognition of the situation in North Korea and agreed that the governments of Japan and the United States would continue to engage in close collaboration, including cooperation between the Self Defense Forces and U.S. Forces, in response to the North Korea's launch of a missile, which it calls a "satellite."