Japan’s defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, is weighing a visit to Washington in mid-January for his first round of in-person talks with US counterpart Pete Hegseth since taking office in late October, Kyodo News reports.

According to sources briefed on the planning cited by the news agency, the agenda is expected to centre on deepening industrial and technological collaboration, with particular attention on joint missile production and the maintenance of US naval and air assets stationed in the region.

Tokyo and Washington have been exploring an accelerated timetable for co-producing the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, a system central to both countries’ air-defence posture. Japanese shipyards are also being positioned to take on more extensive repair work for US vessels, part of a broader effort to strengthen the alliance’s operational resilience in the western Pacific. It is a trip that will undoubtedly serve to antagonise Beijing at a time of increased tensions between the China and Japan over comments on Taiwan made by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Koizumi is expected to use the trip to underline Tokyo’s determination to push ahead with its sharp increase in defence outlays. Parliament’s passage of an additional budget has enabled the government to advance its 2% of GDP spending target to fiscal 2025—two years earlier than originally planned. Discussions in Washington may also touch on the possibility of an even higher ratio, amid quiet pressure from the Trump administration for a more substantial contribution to shared security burdens.

Both governments are reviewing longstanding constraints on Japan’s defence exports. Tokyo is in the midst of assessing whether to scrap a set of rules that currently restrict overseas transfers of military equipment to narrowly defined, non-combat categories. The talks in January are expected to include updates on that process as well as ongoing revisions to Japan’s core national security strategy documents.

Regional dynamics will also frame the meeting as with China’s maritime posture growing more aggressive, the two ministers are likely to reinforce plans for more frequent and more complex joint exercises and for expanding deployments along the Nansei island chain, which arcs from Kyushu towards Taiwan.

The talks, Kyodo adds, are also set to highlight the role of broader regional partnerships, with Koizumi and Hegseth expected to emphasise closer coordination with South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and other like-minded governments.