Japan, Germany expand military ties as German warship visits

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense minister, Nobuo Kishi, has said it will step up military cooperation with Germany in the Indo-Pacific region as he welcomed a port call by the first German warship to visit Japan in about 20 years. The frigate Bayern is visiting Tokyo after two days of joint exercises with the a Japanese destroyer in the Pacific Ocean amid increasingly assertive maritime activities by China in the region. The visit comes as the two sides are stepping up military ties in the region. The chief of Germany’s armed forces, Gen. Eberhard Zorn, stressed his country’s commitment to the region.