Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, have agreed to closely coordinate sanctions against Russia while supporting Ukraine.

During their phone call on Friday, Kishida congratulated Sunak on his becoming prime minister and welcomed further deepening relations between their countries in various fields. Sunak also expressed hope for closer ties.

The two talked about the need for the international community to send a clear message that Russian threats to use nuclear weapons are unacceptable.

The leaders reaffirmed cooperation in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, as well as its abductions of Japanese nationals. Pyongyang has been taking provocative actions including ballistic missile launches.

They agreed to push forward work to sign the Japan-UK Reciprocal Access Agreement that would stipulate how to organize joint exercises between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the British military.

They also agreed to accelerate talks on Britain's cooperation to develop the next generation of fighter aircraft for Japan's Air Self-Defense Force.