The Pentagon and Japan’s defense ministry agreed to increase cooperation on fielding new and more capable missiles and to step up military exercises along the so-called First Island Chain stretching from Japan south across the coast of China.
The ministry, in a statement following a 50-minute meeting Thursday between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, said the moves are aimed at confronting an increasingly “severe security environment” — a reference to ever-growing threats posed by China.
Tensions remain high between America’s key Asian ally and China over Tokyo’s control of the Senkaku Islands, which China claims. Beijing is also fuming over recent statements by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting Japanese forces would defend Taiwan in a potential Chinese attack.
China recently cut off exports to Japan of dual-use, military-civilian items in response to the prime minister’s November remarks on Taiwan.
Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Koizumi agreed to bolster deterrence and military response capabilities “with a sense of urgency,” according to the ministry statement. As part of those efforts, U.S. and Japanese forces will expand their presence in Japan’s southwest, and a top priority will be the conduct of “more advanced and practical joint training in various locations” — but especially in the southwest region. That region includes Okinawa, an island with several strategic U.S. military bases and a key outpost for monitoring activities by the Chinese military, especially toward Taiwan.
China’s leader Xi Jinping has ordered the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take over Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by Beijing, by 2027.
Washington’s policy has been to attempt to deter China from conflict over the island by increasing the fostering closer ties with regional allies and by increasing the force posture and readiness of the U.S. military.
Collaboration between Japan and the U.S. will include joint missile production of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, and advanced Patriot PAC-3 surface-to-air interceptor missiles, the ministry said.
Japan also will conduct maintenance, jointly and unilaterally, on U.S. warships and aircraft.
The cooperation also will include toughening supply chains for important defense-related minerals and strengthening both the U.S. and Japanese industrial base.
The two leaders also discussed strengthening integrated air and missile defense capabilities and cooperation on military space activities.
“It’s going to be hardnosed realism; a practical, common-sense approach that puts both of our vital national interests together and keeps the peace,” Mr. Hegseth told Mr. Koizumi.
“[We] talk about America first, yes, but it doesn’t mean America alone. It means [working] with our friends [who] are investing [and] standing with us. And that’s how we bring peace through strength around the world [and] here in our hemisphere,” he said during the start of the meeting.
After the session, Mr. Hegseth said the increased training and exercises “across the fFirst Island Chain, again, is the kind of operational demonstration we need to be capable of showing.”
Mr. Koizumi, who joined the secretary for physical training earlier in the day, said through his strong relations with Mr. Hegseth “the Japan-U.S. alliance is becoming even more solid and unwavering.”
The defense minister also said he spoke at length with Adm. Sam Paparo, commander of the Indo-Pacific Command and “I was also able to have very intensive and in-depth discussions about Japanese and American responses to an increasingly severe security environment.”
The details contained in the ministry statement were not mentioned in a Pentagon readout of the talks.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the two defense chiefs affirmed the critical role of the U.S.-Japan alliance in deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. Also discussed were Japan’s efforts to increase its defense spending and rapidly strengthen its capabilities, he said.
“Secretary Hegseth and Minister Koizumi also agreed to continue upgrading alliance command-and-control architectures, make bilateral training and exercises more realistic, improve alliance force posture and presence — including in Japan’s Southwest Islands — and maintain close cooperation on defense industrial base matters,” Mr. Parnell said.
Neither government commented on Japan’s plan to buy 400 U.S. Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
Tokyo agreed in January 2024 to buy 400 Tomahawks for around $2.35 billion in what analysts say is a major shift in Japan’s pacifist and limited self-defense military posture.
Japan in December approved the largest defense budget in the country’s history of $58 billion for fiscal 2026, which starts April 1. Last year the budget was $55.5 billion, also a record.
Tomahawk missiles will provide the Japan Self-Defense Forces with the first long-range offensive precision strike capabilities. The missiles, armed with conventional warheads, will be able to strike targets deep inside China, against North Korea, or against the Russian Far East.
The plan calls for the Japanese military to purchase 200 Tomahawk Block IV variants and 200 Block Vs. The Block IV has a range of 900 miles and the Block V is more advanced with a range of over 1,000 miles. The Block V comes with advanced capabilities including in-flight retargeting, improved guidance and specialized variants for anti-ship attacks as well as strikes on hardened military targets.
The missiles will be deployed on Japanese Aegis-equipped warships.
A defense ministry budget report made public late last year said the first Tomahawks will be delivered in fiscal year 2025, which for Japan ends March 31.
The Tomahawks are just one of several new missile systems Japan is buying from the United States to vastly increase its military firepower with standoff weapons.
The budget report said Japan is developing a hypersonic glide vehicle and tested the missile in June and August.
Also being developed is an advanced version of the indigenous 120-mile to 249-mile range Type-12 missile.
Initially built as an anti-ship missile, the new version will be a surface-to-surface missile launched from ground launchers or ships that could have a range of up to 620 miles.
Japan also is planning to buy Joint Strike Missiles for use on F-35s and Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile, for deployment on upgraded F-15s, according to the budget report.
Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura, chief of staff for the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, stated in a New Year’s message that Japan is strengthening its deterrence capabilities as China is stepping up military activities in the region.
“Looking at the global situation, as the international order falters and factors of instability converge, the security environment surrounding Japan is facing unprecedented challenges,” he said. “China has expanded and intensified its activities in the surrounding seas and airspace.”
North Korea also is continuing to launch ballistic missiles and Russia is cementing ties with China and North Korea while pressing its war in Ukraine,
“By strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance and deepening cooperation with like-minded countries, we will contribute to the realization of a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” Gen. Uchikura said.
The missile program is part of what Tokyo calls its “seven pillars” of a major defense buildup.
Other parts of the military buildup include integrated air and missile defense systems, unmanned air and sea systems, space and cyber weapons, improved command and control systems, mobile transport systems and improved maintenance and sustainment.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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