High levels of chemicals used in firefighting foam have been detected near a U.S. Air Force base in northeastern Japan, officials announced Wednesday.

The mother of a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean agents 47 years ago expressed hope Wednesday that President Donald Trump will help return all Japanese abductees.

Japan and the Philippines plan to remind the new U.S. administration about the need for continued American commitment to Indo-Pacific security, according to the U.S. allies’ foreign ministers.

Japanese authorities are warning residents to remain alert for strong tremors in the coming days after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck southern Japan this week.

American troops recently joined a 12-nation parachute drill near Tokyo to hone skills needed to recapture remote islands.

President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration has the potential to bring uncertainty to an already tense security situation around Japan, a foreign policy expert said.

Police were still searching Tuesday for an at-risk American teen last seen leaving a U.S. Army housing area near the Japanese capital the previous morning.

Japanese officials visited a training facility at Yokota Air Base, where firefighting foam likely overflowed into stormwater drains last summer.

Japan’s Cabinet on Friday approved the country’s largest-ever defense budget for the coming fiscal year, keeping with its plan for defense budget increases until fiscal 2027. The plan to spend 8.7 trillion yen, or about $54.8 billion, is a 9.7% increase from this year’s budget.

Reports of drone sightings at this base south of Hiroshima caused the airfield to temporarily halt military and civilian flights on Sunday evening, according to U.S. military and Japanese officials.