During the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting on July 28, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru, and Japan Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko resolved to enhance U.S.-Japan Alliance deterrence and response capabilities to uphold the free and open rules-based international order.
Following Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's Official Visit to Washington, D.C., on April 10, 2024, the Secretary and his counterparts underscored bilateral progress to build a global partnership for the future, including by upgrading Alliance command and control (C2), deepening defense industry and advanced technology cooperation, and enhancing cross-domain operations. During the 2+2 meeting, they reaffirmed their intent to accelerate the following lines of effort.
Modernize Alliance Roles, Missions, and Capabilities
The United States and Japan decided to upgrade the core tenets of the Alliance to reflect their historic level of bilateral interoperability and to meet challenges posed to their shared vision and common values.
- The Ministers announced a historic decision to modernize U.S. and Japanese command and control (C2) frameworks, including the reconstitution of U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) to a Joint Force Headquarters, which will complement Japan's establishment of the JSDF Joint Operations Command (JJOC).
- The JJOC will increase Japan's joint operations capability and facilitate greater interoperability with U.S. forces.
- The decision to reconstitute USFJ to expand its missions and operational responsibilities will be the most significant change to USFJ since its creation – and one of the strongest improvements to the Alliance's military cooperation in seventy years.
- The Ministers welcomed initiatives to strengthen bilateral training, exercises, and operations, as well as initiatives to bolster the Alliance's presence in Japan's Southwest Islands.
- The Ministers reiterated U.S. defense commitments under Article V of the Mutual Security Treaty, including nuclear, and Japan's role in maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region by seamlessly responding to any situation from peacetime to contingency, further enabled by Japan's 2015 Legislation for Peace and Security.
Expand Defense Industry Cooperation
The United States and Japan further accelerated work on co-production, co-development, and co-sustainment to advance innovation, strengthen their industrial bases, promote resilient and reliable supply chains, and invest in the strategic industries of the future.
- The Ministers heralded the recent convening of the Forum on Defense Industry Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment (DICAS), as well as its working groups on missile co-production, ship repair, aircraft repair, and supply chain resilience.
- The Ministers welcomed high-priority efforts to pursue mutually beneficial co-production opportunities to expand production capacity of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) and Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), in order to meet critical demands for such advanced systems, address timely procurement and readiness requirements, and deter aggression.
- The Ministers supported Japan's revision of its Three Principles on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and its Implementation Guidelines, which supports efforts to leverage both countries' respective industrial bases to meet the demand for critical capabilities.
Enhance Alignment With Allies and Partners
The United States and Japan reiterated their strong support for networking with allies and partners in and beyond the Indo-Pacific region, recognizing the U.S.-Japan Alliance as the cornerstone of regional peace, security, and prosperity.
- The Ministers committed to strengthen and institutionalize cooperation with the Republic of Korea, including on ballistic missile defense and trilateral exercises, in order to address common regional and global challenges.
- The Ministers resolved to advance trilateral cooperation with Australia through:
- Partnering on emerging technology research;
- Exploring opportunities for reciprocal deployments of U.S., Japanese, and Australian F-35s;
- Conducting more trilateral exercises and training; and
- Deepening trilateral intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities.
- The Ministers supported increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the Philippines, including on maritime security and capacity building; reaffirmed the importance of cooperation with partners in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands; and welcomed greater engagement between Japan and Euro-Atlantic partners, both bilaterally and through multilateral entities like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union.
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