On July 28, foreign and defense ministers from Japan and the United States announced plans to further accelerate military integration between the two nations, with a focus on three areas: operations, equipment, and nuclear deterrence.
The move came just over three months after Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited Washington and addressed the U.S. Congress, saying, “I am here to say that Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States. You are not alone. We are with you.”
Most notably, at the so-called two-plus-two meeting in Tokyo on July 28, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Defense Minister Kihara Minoru and their U.S. counterparts, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, agreed to strengthen command and control coordination between the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) to “enhance U.S.-Japan deterrence and response capabilities.”
Specifically, the U.S. will “reconstitute” USFJ as a joint force headquarters (JFHQ) reporting to the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered in the U.S. state of Hawai’i.
Although there are around 55,000 U.S. troops in Japan, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, the USFJ Headquarters at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo is unable to mobilize its troops with authority. Command and control is held by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawai’i, which is more than 6,000 km away from Tokyo with a 19-hour time difference.
The Japanese side has always been concerned that this tyranny of distance would be an obstacle to decision-making in the event of any emergency including natural disasters.
This reconstituted USFJ is intended to serve as an important counterpart for Japan’s Joint Operations Command, which is set to be established by March 2025 as new headquarters to oversee Japan’s Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces.
The two nations “will closely consult and establish working groups to further develop bilateral aspects of this proposal,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
The U.S. headquarters in South Korea is led by a four-star general, while the U.S. military commander in Japan is a three-star general. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. military will upgrade its command in Japan to a four-star general at the request of Tokyo. Japan will likely see this as a gauge of U.S. seriousness about the alliance, with a Taiwan contingency in mind.
In a press conference following the two-plus-two meeting, Austin welcomed the countries’ latest move to “modernize” their alliance command and control as a “historic decision.”
“This will be the most significant change to U.S. Forces Japan since its creation, and one of the strongest improvements in our military ties with Japan in 70 years,” Austin said.
The four ministers also confirmed the two countries would expand joint production of defense equipment, namely the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE).
The aim is to fill the inventory shortage in the United States, which continues to provide military support to Ukraine under Russian aggression.
The PAC-3 is manufactured in Japan by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, which is the prime contractor for licensed production by paying patent fees to U.S. companies. In December last year, the Japanese government revised the operational guidelines for the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, fully lifting restrictions on exports of licensed products to the country that granted the license.
On July 28, the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo announced that it had signed a contract to sell the Air Self-Defense Force’s PAC-3 to the U.S. military. The contract amount is about 3 billion yen ($19.4 million). The ministry said that the deal will “contribute to Japan’s national security and the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.”
By replenishing its inventory, the U.S. will be able to more easily provide new American-made missiles to Ukraine. Japanese exports will thus indirectly provide arms support to Ukraine.
The four ministers also held their first ministerial meeting to increase the credibility of U.S. extended deterrence, including the provision of a nuclear umbrella.
The joint statement pointed out North Korea’s “unlawful” nuclear and missile programs, China’s “accelerating and opaque expansion of its nuclear arsenal,” and Russia’s “undermining of arms control and the global nonproliferation regime.”
“Under these circumstances,” the ministers said, “the United States and Japan reiterated the need to reinforce the Alliance’s deterrence posture, and manage existing and emerging strategic threats through deterrence, arms control, risk reduction, and nonproliferation.”
There is currently a heated debate in Tokyo about the promotion of “Japan-U.S. integration.” The mainstream view, represented by former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Sasae Kenichiro, argues that Japan-U.S. integration will serve as a deterrent to prevent war, with a more assertive China in mind.
Meanwhile, non-mainstream factions led by Tanaka Hitoshi, a former deputy minister for foreign affairs in Japan, argue this integration means positioning Japan as the front line in U.S. strategy to deter China in both peacetime and wartime, with South Korea being the front line in deterring North Korea.
“Since the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the signing of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1951, successive Japanese governments have continued to say that Japan-U.S. relations are the cornerstone of Japanese diplomacy, but the joint statement this time goes beyond that and can be seen as a step toward integrating Japan and the U.S. with the military at its core,” Tanaka cautioned in a magazine published on April 17, after Kishida’s visit to Washington.
Tanaka warned that “Japan may become too subservient on the United States diplomatically.”
Following a meeting between the leaders of the United States and China in November 2023, a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries was also held in May 2024, the first in a year and a half. In addition, most recently, on July 27, the U.S. and Chinese foreign ministers held a meeting in Laos. Momentum for stabilizing relations between Washington and Beijing is slowly building, even as the underlying tensions remain.
Still, there are concerns within Japan that growing dependence on the United States could limit the scope of Japan’s diplomacy with China.