TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged on Wednesday to deepen his country's alliance with the United States under Tokyo's new defense policy that breaks from its exclusively self-defense-only stance in the face of growing regional tensions.

At a news conference after visiting Ise Shrine in central Japan, Kishida said he would visit Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden to underscore the strength of the Tokyo-Washington alliance and highlight closer cooperation between the countries under Japan's new security and defense strategies adopted last month.