Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide held the first telephone conference on the morning of the 12th with Joe Biden, who won the US presidential election.



According to Japanese media such as Kyodo News and NHK, Prime Minister Suga directly conveyed congratulations to Biden-elect and confirmed the strengthening of the US-Japan alliance.



Prime Minister Suga told Biden, "The Japan-US (US-Japan) alliance is indispensable for peace and prosperity in the increasingly stringent region around Japan and the international community, and it needs to be further strengthened."



In this regard, Prime Minister Suga told reporters that Biden has confirmed that Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty is applied to the Senkaku (Chinese name Diaoyudao) Islands.



Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty stipulates that in the event of an armed attack on either the territory of Japan or the US military base in Japan, the US and Japan must deal with common risks in accordance with their constitutional regulations and procedures.



The Senkaku Islands, which belong to Okinawa Prefecture in terms of administrative area, are a disputed area between Japan and China claiming sovereignty.



Earlier, the US administration of Donald Trump also confirmed that the Senkaku Islands are subject to the US-Japan security treaty that stipulates the US defense obligations against Japan.



The first phone call between Prime Minister Suga and Biden-elect began at 8:30 am on the day and lasted for about 10 minutes.



Prime Minister Suga appealed to Biden for solidarity between the United States and Japan to realize a'free and open Indo-Pacific'.



They also requested cooperation on the issue of abduction of Japanese by North Korea.



Kyodo News Agency explained in connection with the telephone conference, "President Trump is willing not to declare defeat by insisting on election fraud, but Prime Minister (Suga) regards Mr. Biden as the next president and aims to build a trust relationship."



It is said that Prime Minister Suga plans to visit the United States after the inauguration ceremony of the US president on January 20 next year and hold a summit meeting between the US and Japan with Biden.



In this conference, the Kyodo News Agency said Prime Minister Suga and Biden agreed to visit the United States for face-to-face talks as early as possible.



After the phone talks, Prime Minister Suga said to the reporters at the Prime Minister's residence, "It was a very meaningful phone conference in promoting the strengthening of the Japan-US alliance."



After Prime Minister Suga, Biden held a telephone conference with President Moon Jae-in.



(Photo = Getty Image Korea)