Washington: The United States and Japan will soon sign an agreement that will enable bilateral cooperation on developing defences against hypersonic missiles and on new space-based capabilities, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

"We're launching a new research and development agreement that will make it easier for our scientists, for our engineers and program managers to collaborate on emerging defence related issues from countering hypersonic threats to advancing space-based capabilities," Blinken said during a virtual meeting with Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts on Thursday.

Blinken also said that in the coming days the United States and Japan will sign a new five-year host nation agreement that will support framework which will invest greater resources to deepen military readiness and interoperability.