US, Japan preparing for biggest defence deal upgrade yet

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce plans to restructure US military command in Japan at a meeting at the White House on April 10.

Washington and Tokyo are planning the biggest update to their security treaty in more than 60 years, sources told the Financial Times. According to the data, the United States will expand the functions of the headquarters of its armed forces in Japan.

The purpose of updating the agreement is to confront China and North Korea. The parties may consider the possibility of modernizing the American armed forces stationed on Japanese territory. The American headquarters may be given the opportunity to independently plan joint exercises with the Japanese Self-Defence Forces and conduct a more active exchange of information.

The White House, Pentagon, US Indo-Pacific Command and the Japanese government declined to comment. Former Japan Self-Defense Forces chief of staff Ryoichi Oriki told the FT that the US needs to assign a more senior officer to Japan because he believes Washington is taking on a major role in regional defence. The appointment of a high-ranking officer would send a “signal to China and North Korea.”