US eyes change to military command in Japan: sources

Amid concerns about the possibility of a Taiwan contingency, there are worries it would be difficult to make timely responses

The US is contemplating plans to strengthen the functions of the US Forces Japan Headquarters to promote cooperation between the US military and the Japan Self-Defense Forces due to concerns about a potential Taiwan contingency, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday.

The US government has begun to plan the adjustment to promote interoperability between the militaries of the US and Japan, the newspaper cited multiple Japanese and US government officials as saying.

The changes are to be made in coordination with Japan’s plan to establish a joint headquarters to command its ground, maritime and air forces by the end of March next year, it said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden on April 10 for a summit in the US, it said, adding that a joint statement to be issued after the summit might include the plan to adjust the US Forces Japan Headquarters.

“We are in discussion about how our planned joint command can strengthen cooperation with the US and South Korea,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said yesterday at a regular news conference when asked about the reports.

The agenda for the BidenKishida summit has not yet been decided, he added.

The headquarters currently has limited authority regarding the supervision of Japan-US joint exercises and the implementation of the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The US Indo-Pacific Commander, headquartered in Hawaii, has command over the US Navy’s 7th Fleet based in Japan’s Yokosuka and US Marine units based in Okinawa Prefecture, it said.

As China is stepping up its military coercion in East Asia and there are concerns about the possibility of a Taiwan contingency, some are worried that it would be difficult to make timely responses under the current system, which requires coordination between Tokyo and Hawaii due to the time difference, it said.

The adjustment under discussion aims to expand the authority of the US Forces Japan Headquarters without taking away the command authority of the US Indo-Pacific Commander, it said.

There is a proposal to give the Tokyo headquarters authority to plan joint Japan-US exercises and training, as well as to work with the joint headquarters that is to be launched next year on coordination, information sharing and distribution of materials, it said.

Another possible arrangement is to establish a permanent joint team in Japan to ensure closer coordination between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US forces in Japan, it said.

Unlike in Japan, US troops based in South Korea and the South’s military are under a single command authority, it added.