The Pentagon has begun the first phase of upgrading U.S. Forces Japan to a joint force headquarters, announced Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday during a joint press conference with Japan Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
The two defense chiefs held their first in-person meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, during which they agreed to accelerate efforts to strengthen the deterrence posture of the U.S.–Japan alliance.
“I want to announce that the Defense Department has started phase one of upgrading U.S. Forces Japan to a joint force headquarters./ The upgrade will improve our ability to coordinate operations with Japan’s own Joint Operations Command or JJOC,” said Hegseth. He added that this would increase U.S. readiness to respond to contingencies or crises, support U.S. operations and help Japan and U.S. forces defend Japanese territories.
Hegseth said that additional personnel would soon be added in Tokyo and USFJ headquarters to conduct activities to strengthen bilateral ties and deepen operational cooperation. USFJ will be reorganised into a “warfighting” headquarters, increasing its staff and giving its commander the authority needed to accomplish new missions. He did not give details on the time frame for the reorganization or the number of additional personnel to be added as part of the change.
Plans to transform USFJ, with the agreement of Japan, were announced by the Biden administration in June 2024, though CNN reported on Mar. 19 that the plan to transform USFJ was one of the items proposed for cancellation as part of Pentagon cost-saving measures.
Hegseth also emphasised the U.S.-Japan alliance and its resolve to stand against China. “America and Japan stand firmly together in the face of aggressive and coercive actions by the Communist Chinese,” he said. He adding that the U.S. is committed to sustaining robust, ready and credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait, and that Japan would be on the frontlines of any contingency faced in the Western Pacific.
Stating that the U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and security in the region, Hegseth said the goal of both countries is increased deterrence, peace through strength and keeping the enemy guessing. This means ensuring the U.S. has the right posture in Japan, along with the right capabilities forward deployed, whether permanently or temporarily, in Japan. “It also means expanding access to key terrain in the first island chain such as Japan’s southwest islands and, certainly, it means exercising together at those critical locations,” said Hegseth
Nakatani stated that the expansion of the bilateral presence in Japan’s southwest region was one of the U.S.–Japan Alliance’s top priorities. “At Japan’s own initiative, we will continue to strengthen our defence posture in the southwestern region and strive to conduct more sophisticated and realistic bilateral training and exercises while gaining the understanding of local communities,” said Nakatani.
Japan’s southwest region in recent years has overtaken Northern Japan in Tokyo’s defence concerns. In recent years, with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) including its carrier strike groups, regularly transiting and conducting operations in the international waters around Japan’s southwest islands, its claims to the Senkaku Islands, the Chinese military conducting exercises simulating an air and sea blockade of Taiwan and Russia and China conducting joint naval and air drills around the area, has seen Tokyo pushing both an increase in its military capabilities and presence in the region along with pushing the development of weapon systems geared toward island defence.
The U.S. has been operating MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles from the Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy MQ-4 Triton UAVs out of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. In 2023, the Marine Corps–Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Iron Fist exercise shifted from the United States to southwest Japan, while part of the Marine Corps-JGSDF exercise Resolute Dragon 2024 exercise also was conducted in the southwest region. The U.S. and Japan have not stated whether the planned increased exercises in the southwest would be new ones or building on existing drills. Last year, the U.S. expanded the Valiant Shield exercise, which normally takes place in Guam, to also include drills in the South China Sea and Japan, thus making it possible that this year’s iteration may include drills in the southwest region.
As part of its military build-up in the southwest region, Japan on Sunday activated the JGSDF’s 8th Surface to Ship Missile (SSM) Regiment based at JGSDF Yufuin Garrison in Oita Prefecture on the main island of Kyushu, completing a recent plan to field a total of 7 SSM regiments (the 6th SSM regiment had been deactivated in 2011). The 8th SSM Regiment will field the Type 12 SSM and, eventually, the improved Type 12 SSM, which will have more advanced capabilities and range.
Later on Sunday afternoon, following his morning meeting with Nakatani, Hegseth made a 45-minute courtesy call on Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. They concurred to continue making efforts such as enhancing extended deterrence, steadily implementing the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and strengthening the network of like-minded countries. Hegsteh and Isiba also agreed to make efforts to mitigate the impact on local communities, including preventing the recurrence of incidents and accidents, according to a Japan Prime Minister Office release.
Dzirhan Mahadzir is a freelance defense journalist and analyst based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Among the publications he has written for and currently writes for since 1998 includes Defence Review Asia, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Navy International, International Defence Review, Asian Defence Journal, Defence Helicopter, Asian Military Review and the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter.
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