Photo/Illutration U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa during a signing ceremony on bilateral cooperation on space in Washington on Jan. 13 (The Asahi Shimbun)

WASHINGTON--President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held wide-ranging talks at the White House on Friday as Japan looks to build security cooperation with allies in a time of provocative Chinese and North Korean military action.

The two administrations also sealed an agreement to bolster U.S.-Japanese cooperation on space with a signing ceremony by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa.

The Oval Office meeting and signing ceremony at NASA's Washington headquarters capped a weeklong tour for Kishida that took him to five European and North American capitals for talks on his effort to beef up Japan's security.

Kishida went to NASA's Washington headquarters after visiting the White House for the signing of the space agreement.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the two countries are “poised to unlock the secrets of the universe.” Blinken said “we're entering a new chapter of space exploration" as they plan expeditions to the moon and Mars.

Blinken said this would take space cooperation "to new heights" and strengthen the partnership in areas including research into space technology and transportation, robotic lunar surface missions, climate-related missions, and "our shared ambition to see a Japanese astronaut on the lunar surface."

At the ceremony, Kishida said the U.S.-Japan alliance was "stronger than ever."

Earlier this week, Blinken said the U.S. and Japan agree that China is their “greatest shared strategic challenge” and confirmed that an attack in space would trigger a mutual defense provision in the U.S.-Japan security treaty.

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