Japan has announced that its foreign and defense chiefs and their US counterparts will meet via teleconference on Friday morning, Japan Time.

The participants from the Japan side are Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will join from the United States.

The "two plus two" talks were originally scheduled to take place in Washington. The meeting was changed to an online event due mainly to the resurgence of coronavirus infections in the US.

The government says the officials will discuss security challenges facing the two countries. They are expected to exchange views over future cooperation for achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific.

They will also discuss the strengthening of the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance, and the direction of their security and defense cooperation in the region.

Both sides will also confirm an agreement to increase Japan's costs for hosting US forces.

The Japanese government hopes to further strengthen bilateral security cooperation by sharing concerns with the US side about security challenges. These include China's increasing maritime activities, maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and North Korea's missile and nuclear development.