Japan wants to step up its defenses amid heightened tensions in Asia.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday after a summit with US President Joe Biden in Tokyo.

Military spending will increase significantly accordingly.

Biden has shown his support for this, said Kishida.

Both politicians agreed to expand and deepen the security and defense cooperation between the two states.

The White House said they agreed to "work closely together" to counter China's increasingly dominating stance "that violates international law."

The allies also agreed to cooperate closely with regard to the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear program.

Among other things, the United States is suspicious of China's drive to expand in the South China Sea.

Beijing recently decided to significantly increase its military budget.

The country's communist leadership is threatening democratic Taiwan and its neighbors in the South and East China Seas, including Japan, over territorial disputes.

Observers expect Kishida to announce that Japan will also increase defense spending.

USA: North Korea could test nuclear weapons again

Biden also praised Japan for cooperating on sanctions against Russia.

Japan is a "key global leader" and the US remains "fully committed to Japan's defense," Biden said after Monday's meeting.

Kishida was again pleased that despite the war in Ukraine, Biden wants to "further increase his commitment in the Indo-Pacific region".

The White House statement went on to say that Biden sees the US-Japan alliance as a "cornerstone" for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Biden is expected to present an initiative on trade in the region in Japan.

This is seen as an attempt to become independent of Chinese supply chains in the long term.

A statement on the need for "stability" in the Taiwan Strait is also expected to counter Beijing's threats against Taipei.

Biden had previously visited South Korea, where he promised expanded joint military maneuvers in view of North Korea's missile tests.

The United States has also been warning for weeks that North Korea could soon conduct a nuclear weapons test for the first time since 2017.