The United States military currently maintains a force of more than 55,000 troops in Japan, and it could soon be commanded by a three-star general.
The United States Forces Japan (USFJ) is currently subordinate unified command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), but as part of a newly announced “phased approach,” the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will convert USFJ into a joint force headquarters, which will be commanded by a Lt. General. This is to address the fact that USINDOPACOM is headquartered more than 3,700 miles away – not to mention the 19-hour time difference.
It is part of a larger plan to enhance U.S.-Japan defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and to deter Chinese aggression in the region.
The announcement was made following security talks in Tokyo between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their respective Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara.
“We welcome an historic decision to modernize our alliance command and control to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” said Austin following the high-level meetings. “The United States will upgrade the U.S. Forces Japan to a joint force headquarters with expanded missions and operational responsibilities.”
Heading the JSDF
The Pentagon also announced that a U.S. three-star general officer will serve as a counterpart to Tokyo’s Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) Joint Operations Command.
“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 added. “Japan’s new Joint Operations Command will further allow our forces to work together more closely than ever. And these new operational capabilities and responsibilities will advance our collective deterrence.”
Austin further said this modernization of the alliance’s command and control will better allow it to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
“We are reinforcing our combined ability to deter and respond to coercive behavior in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” Austin noted. “We’re reinforcing the rules-based international order that keeps us all safe. And the agreements that we’ve advanced today will ensure that the U.S.-Japan alliance remains a cornerstone of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
However, it has been reported that Tokyo has pushed for the USFJ to be commanded by a four-star general – matching the rank of the JSDF head. The U.S. headquarters in South Korea is currently led by a four-star general.
New Bilateral Working Group
The U.S. and Japanese officials also announced that new bilateral working groups will be established to address the growing challenges in electronic warfare (EW), information warfare, and joint command and control (C2). The U.S.-Japan “2+2” Security Committee called for upgrading the alliance’s C2 while deepening the defense industry and advanced technology cooperation, and enhancing cross-domain operations.
“The United States and Japan will enhance interoperability at the policy-level by coordinating respective decision-making processes, and at the operational-level by coordinating plans, capability development and employment, posture, resource allocation, and exercises. This includes facilitating greater interoperability on joint bilateral operations, such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities, training and exercises; operational planning; contingency planning; and logistics,” the American and Japanese officials said in a joint statement.
The working groups will further serve to strengthen bilateral coordination on cross-domain operations, including cyber, space, and EW. It recognized the importance of these domains and called for greater emphasis on future concepts to support deterrence and response capabilities.
Both the United States and Japan are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) – commonly known as the Quad – a strategic security dialog that also includes Australia and India. In addition, there have been ongoing discussions about including Japan as a Pillar 2 member in the Australian, United Kingdom, and U.S. trilateral agreement known as AUKUS.
