The Japanese government sources revealed that Washington intends to hand over operational command authority to U.S. forces in Japan to strengthen collaboration with the Self-Defense Forces. The U.S. government is set to present the reorganization of U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) at an upcoming meeting between Japanese and U.S. foreign and defense ministers scheduled to take place in Tokyo on July 28.
Under the new structure, the Self-Defense Forces plan to set up a joint operations command encompassing their ground, maritime, and air branches by the following spring. This restructured USFJ will function as the corresponding entity to the SDF's joint operations command, enhancing coordination in operational planning and troop activities. Currently, the USFJ, operating as a subordinate command of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, holds no operational command authority and is primarily responsible for base and troop management.
The existing setup with operational command authority residing with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, situated in Hawaii and overseeing a wide geographic area, poses challenges for close coordination with the SDF. In April, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden concurred on reinforcing coordination between the SDF and USFJ in command-and-control undertakings, prompting U.S. officials to explore ways to achieve this objective. Notably, the U.S. military holds a substantial lead over the SDF in intelligence capabilities and equipment, highlighting a disparity that Japan needs to address as it aims to maintain the independence of its operational command authority while intensifying coordination with the U.S. military in command-and-control activities.