By Ahmet Furkan Mercan
TOKYO (AA) - Japan and the US reiterated their commitments to a mutual security pact on Saturday.
The two countries will work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region in light of a growing Chinese presence, said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a reception for a group of US lawmakers in Tokyo.
The group included Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Senator Bob Menendez.
There is a bipartisan understanding in the US of the significance of the Japan-US alliance, said the lawmakers.
Kishida also asked for US cooperation to bring home Japanese nationals who were abducted by North Korea decades ago.
*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk