U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (2nd L) is followed by his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry and embassy staff members upon their arrival at Tsinghua University May 26, 2009 in Beijing, China. Photo:Getty Images

(VOVworld)- US Secretary of State John Kerry left Washington Tuesday to begin a 6-day visit to Asia. He will visit Tokyo on Wednesday and Thursday to attend the 2+2 meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Itsunori Onodera, the Japanese Minister of Defense. The US Department of State considers this meeting the next step in the process of improving US-Japan relations. The group will discuss developments in Asia including nuclear ambitions of North Korea and territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the East Sea. Kerry will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Bali, Indonesia, on Friday.