U.S.-Japan upgrades alliance during Biden-Kishida meeting

The United States and Japan are considering ways to strengthen military cooperation, with several reports suggesting the alliance may undergo one of the largest structural upgrades in decades.

The potential changes, designed to better deal with common threats such as China and North Korea, will be highlighted when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets U.S. President Joe Biden during a state visit to Washington next week.

During the visit, U.S. and Japanese officials are expected to agree on a review of the framework that has guided interactions between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the approximately 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan for decades.

Specifically, Japan’s Kyodo News The news agency said the U.S. military will consider how to strengthen the functions of its command headquarters in Japan due to concerns that the current arrangements cannot provide adequate coordination during the conflict.

Japan wants the United States to appoint or promote a four-star commander to oversee U.S. forces in Japan. Under the current setup, U.S. forces in Japan are led by a three-star general and have little authority for joint operations. That means Japan must coordinate with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, more than 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles) and five time zones away.

Existing arrangements date back to the 1960s, long before China’s massive military buildup and North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons upended Asia’s security dynamics and prompted Japan to play a more proactive role in international affairs.

It is unclear what changes the United States will propose. The White House National Security Council declined to comment when asked by VOA about recent reports on the matter. Still, the review is welcomed by many in Japan’s defense community, who have been pushing for greater integration between the two countries’ militaries.

“This is a very important step for the alliance,” said Tetsuo Kotani, a senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. “By upgrading our command and control relationship, we are actually preparing for joint operations so that the two militaries can Acting together in times of crisis.”

A more confident Japan

Until recently, it was difficult to imagine Japan being involved in a major conflict. The country has a strictly pacifist constitution, which was drafted by the United States after Japan’s defeat in World War II.

But in recent years, Japan has loosened some of its self-imposed military restrictions, allowing it to become a major player in regional and global security.

Most notably, Japan plans to increase annual defense spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) from the traditional 1% to 2% by 2027. That could give Japan the world’s third-largest military budget, behind the United States and China.

Japan will also deploy missiles that can strike military targets in other countries for the first time. In January, Japan signed an agreement with the United States to purchase up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Analysts said the acquisition further heightened the urgency for military integration, noting that if the missiles were used, Japan would be dependent on the United States for targeting information, damage assessments and escalation management.

Naoko Aoki, deputy political scientist at the RAND Corporation, said that the enhancement of Japan’s defense capabilities also requires closer cooperation with another U.S. ally, South Korea, where about 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed.

“Because if Japan uses this [counter strike capability] For example, with North Korea, then obviously coordination between the three countries is going to be very, very important,” she said.

To allow for smoother integration of its military, Japan recently announced plans to establish a joint operations headquarters by 2025. The move has also been widely discussed as a possible catalyst for further integration with the U.S. military.

how to proceed

The U.S. military has not released details of any possible changes to its command structure in Japan. However, media reports point to several possibilities.

Last week, Reuters reported that Washington would consider appointing a four-star commander as requested by Tokyo, but it was unclear what responsibilities the position would entail.

Some analysts said the appointment of a four-star American general might be too controversial in Japan because it is widely seen as a possible precursor to the type of unified command in South Korea, where a four-star American general would take command. U.S. and South Korean troops during wartime.

“In Japan, four-star generals sound a little too much right now,” Kotani said. Instead, he thinks the United States could establish some type of joint coordination center to facilitate greater interaction with the Japanese military.

Last week, a similar idea was considered a possibility Financial Times. The task force will be part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet based in Hawaii but will be transferred to Japan “over time,” the British newspaper reported.

Jeffrey J. Hall, an expert on Japanese politics at Kanda University of International Studies, said that from Tokyo’s perspective, such a proposal “is probably better than nothing.”

“It does make sense to move decision-making to a time zone closer to potential conflict areas,” Hall said.

But Hall said U.S. officials may be cautious, perhaps concerned about a major move that could spark opposition in Japan, where some are uneasy with the idea of ​​Japan’s military being under U.S. control.

Kishida was already in trouble at home. His cabinet’s approval ratings remain near historic lows due to chronic economic challenges and a political fundraising scandal within the party.

“Last year, Prime Minister Kishida was deeply unpopular among Japanese voters but well-liked by national security personnel in Washington,” Hall said.

For Japan, the question is how to achieve greater military integration while maintaining an appropriate level of independence given Japan’s constitutional and political constraints, Aoki said. But she insists the effort is worth it.

“The command and control architecture…has not changed since the 1960s, but the threat environment has changed a lot,” she said. “Consequently, modernizing it will help strengthen the alliance’s credibility and contribute to its deterrence role in the region.”