Minister Iwaya Meets With then U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan

On June 4th, Minister of Defense Iwaya met with Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan at the MOD.

1. Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation

Minister Iwaya welcomed the Indo-Pacific Strategy Report (IPSR) recently published by the U.S. Both sides confirmed their intent to work closely in efforts laid out in the strategy documents of both countries, in the direction confirmed at the Japan-U.S. “2+2,” including the efforts in the IPSR.

Sharing a sense of urgency, both sides confirmed the necessity to deepen Japan-U.S. cooperation in new domains such as space, cyberspace and electromagnetic spectrum.
Both sides agreed to promote Japan-U.S. cooperation for cross-domain operations including enhanced operational cooperation by improving the interoperability and verification of bilateral cooperation procedures through various exercises.

2. Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Both sides renewed their shared recognition about the importance of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific. Minister Iwaya expressed his intent to strengthen the cooperation with the U.S. efforts to maintain and strengthen the Free and Open Indo-Pacific laid out in the IPSR. Both sides also confirmed the significance of cooperation with various partners in this effort.

3. Regional Affairs

Both sides discussed the regional affairs based on discussions held at the Shangri-La Dialogue. In particular, both sides exchanged opinions on the latest development concerning the issue of North Korea and confirmed the importance of continuing to fully implement the UNSCRs towards CVID of all North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges. Both sides reaffirmed to work closely together between Japan and the U.S. and between Japan, the U.S. and the ROK.

4. U.S. Forces in Japan

Minister Iwaya requested cooperation in efforts to mitigate the impact on local communities including Okinawa, and both sides agreed to cooperate closely between Japan and the U.S. to steadily implement the realignment initiatives of U.S. forces in Japan including the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma to Henoko. Minister Iwaya also asked for efforts to minimize the operational impact of the U.S. Forces on local communities including the noise of transient aircrafts. Both sides also confirmed the importance to ensure the safe operations of the U.S. forces.

Minister Iwaya’s visit to JASDF Yokota Air Base and the headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan

On June 19th, Minister Iwaya visited the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Yokota Air Base to encouragethe JASDF personnel, and the adjacent headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) to have a discussion with AirForce Lieutenant General Kevin B. Schneider. During the discussion, Minister Iwaya extended his appreciation to Lt. Gen. Schneider, Commander of the USFJ and the 5th Air Force, for his dedication to the peace and stability in the region, the development of the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and the day-to-day efforts for the relationship with the local communities. In addition, Minister Iwaya expressed his intent to further strengthen cooperation between the JSDF and USFJ after having confirmed during the visit that the JASDF’s Air Defense Command and USFJ were closely cooperating with each other.

Multilateral Exercise Khaan Quest 19

From June 14th through 28th, the JGSDF participated in Multinational Exercise Khaan Quest 19 in Mongolia, hosted by Mongolia and the U.S. This exercise is organized with the goal of improving various skills for the UN peacekeeping operations as well as reinforcing mutual understanding and trust among participating countries.
More than 30 countries including those in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe took part in this exercise.

The JGSDF sent approx. 60 personnel from the Ground Component Command, and conducted field training event, command post exercise and other exercises on the UN peacekeeping operations.