(a) "US Defense Secretary James Mattis, who was both confirmed (by Congress) and took office on Jan 20, the day Trump was sworn in] is expected to confirm with Defense Minister Tomomi INADA [稲田 朋美; a woman; 'ina' and 'ta' are, respectively, Japanese pronunciation for 稲 and 田] the view that the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture are within the scope of Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which obliges the United States to defend Japan, during Mattis' first visit to Japan, according to sources.
"Both governments are arranging for the confirmation to take place during the Japan-U.S. defense ministerial meeting scheduled for Feb 4.
(b) "When then President Obama visited Japan in April 2014, he clearly said the Senkakus fall within the scope of the Japan-US security treaty. He was the first US president to clearly say so.
"During his presidential election campaign in March last year, however, Trump refused to give an answer and showed an ambiguous attitude when asked by US media what he would do if China occupied the Senkakus. This caused apprehension on the Japanese side.
(c) "During his presidential campaign, Trump said US allies Japan and South Korea did not make appropriate payments for defense, and urged them to shoulder more of the costs of stationing U.S. forces.
"But Mattis is not expected to raise the issue of the costs for stationing US forces during his trip