Japan, US Ministers to Hold ‘Two-Plus-Two’ Talks on Friday

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (R) hold a bilateral meeting at the G7 foreign ministers summit in Liverpool, north-west England, on Dec. 11, 2021. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

TOKYO—Japan’s foreign and defence ministers will hold talks with their U.S. counterparts in a “two-plus-two” format on Friday to discuss security issues, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The announcement of the discussions by the two key allies came just hours after North Korea conducted an apparent ballistic missile launch.