Japan struggles to nail down date for Biden-Kishida follow-up

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has pushed back plans to hold crucial defense meetings with Japan that were set to follow April's bilateral summit where the two countries' leaders forged closer security ties, Nikkei Asia has learned, amid continuing tensions in the Middle East.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden announced a slew of agreements on defense cooperation in Washington on April 10. Among the discussions, the two leaders tasked their respective defense and foreign ministries to lay out specific plans to deepen the defense relationship through the Security Consultative Committee, also known as the 2+2 meeting.