Fitness is something anyone can practice, and Japan’s defense minister proved that again during his visit to the US in January.

During his visit, Shinjiro Koizumi joined his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, for an early-morning workout session near Washington on January 15, 2026. A short clip of the workout was later posted on the DoW, with the caption, “No better way to start the day than morning PT.”

Koizumi entered the base gym around 7 a.m, wearing workout clothes, but later changed into a t-shirt gifted by Secretary Pete Hegseth. As many may already know, Secretary Hesgeth is known for working out with the troops, including instances of him doing so in Singapore and Germany during PT. And similar to those times, he followed that up with a session with Minister Koizumi.

They exercised for nearly 30 minutes, including movements like push-ups and some heavy-weight exercises.

The Japanese Defense Minister later posted, "He then said, "I have a surprise present for you here," and brought out a framed photo of us training earlier that morning. Pete's thoughtfulness was evident throughout the entire itinerary, and my visit to the United States once again brought home the importance of building personal relationships of trust. I'm grateful for his friendship."

The U.S. and Japan have a long history of sports diplomacy, going back years.

And Minister Koizumi Has Been Known To Use It Often

For instance, when Richard Marles, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, visited, they went running with Koizumi.

Before that, in 2024, Koizumi went surfing with then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel.

Just like the Japanese Minister, Secretary Hegseth always encourages self-discipline. Previously, he was spotted participating in exercises with service members during inspections.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar