US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses announced plans to upgrade Japan’s US military headquarters on Sunday. This is a country that has said it is essential to combating China’s attacks.
“We share the warrior spirit that defines the army,” Hegses told Tokyo’s Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani, adding that Japan is a “essential partner of ours” to “deter communist attacks on Chinese forces,” including the Taiwan Strait.
Hegus said Japan is the “ground of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific,” and that the Trump administration continues to work closely with Asian countries.
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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses and Japanese Minister of Defense General Nakatani shook hands while taking photos before a meeting at Tokyo’s Ministry of Defense on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Last year, then-President Joe Biden announced a massive restructuring of Japan’s US military headquarters to deepen coordination with the country’s military, as the two allies called China the “biggest strategic challenge.”
The change will accommodate the head of the Joint Operations Command, which was established last week by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, with an operational commander in line with Japan’s operational commander.
Hegses’ high praise for Japan is in contrast to his criticism of European allies in February, saying that the US presence in the region should not be assumed to last forever.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses and Japanese Minister of Defense General Nakatani will meet at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump has argued that the bilateral defense treaty, which the US government pledges to protect Japan, is not mutual. In his first term, Trump said Japan should run through more money to welcome the US troops.
Japan hosts the only US forward aircraft carrier strike group in the United States, along the East Asian Archipelago, with 50,000 US military personnel, a squadron of fighter jets and a 1,900-mile base of Chinese military power.
This is because Japan will double its military spending, including money to purchase long-range missiles. However, the scope of its forces is limited by the US certified constitution adopted after its defeat in World War II.
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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses and Japanese Minister of Defense General Nakatani will attend a joint press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Reuters)
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Hegseth and Nakatani agreed to accelerate plans to jointly produce Amraam missiles in the air beyond their sight and consider cooperating with the production of SM-6 ground-air-inter-air missiles to support ammunition shortages, Nakatani said.
The Pentagon chief said he asked Nakatani to further increase Japan’s access to the strategic Southwestern Islands along the edge of the contested East China Sea near Taiwan.
On his first official visit to Asia, Hegses traveled to Japan from the Philippines.
On Saturday, he attended the Iwo Jima service ceremony, a place where we fight between us and the Japanese troops 80 years ago.
Reuters contributed to this report.
