Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday no one could have ever imagined South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law imposition last week, while US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took note of Ishiba's "steady hand." Ishiba met with Austin at his residence in Tokyo as Seoul is reeling from the aftermath of the reversed martial law declaration.

"The world changes very quickly on a weekly basis. No one could have ever imagined what has happened in South Korea. Also people couldn't predict what happened to ... the Assad regime," Ishiba said through an interpreter.

"I think ... a century from now, we will have what's happening in 2024 as something historic. So, we need to be accountable for today's world as well as the world of tomorrow's generations," he added.

Taking stock of progress in efforts by the United States and Japan to improve security capabilities, Austin expressed his appreciation for Ishiba's leadership.

"As you pointed out, these are very dynamic times, and we certainly appreciate having your steady hand," Austin said. "May our alliance remain a cornerstone of peace and stability in this region for the foreseeable future."

Austin looked back on joint efforts by Washington and Tokyo to modernize the alliance's command, and control and strengthen their force posture and deterrence capabilities.

"We've also done a lot to cooperate with like-minded countries, like the ROK, Australia and the Philippines," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

Austin arrived in Japan on Sunday night in his 13th and last trip to the Indo-Pacific as the Pentagon chief. An expected Korea portion of the trip was excluded in the wake of political turmoil from Yoon's botched martial law attempt.