Japan, U.S. Likely to Hold 2+2 Security Talks in July to Discuss Closer Cooperation between SDF, U.S. Military

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:03 JST, May 24, 2024

The Japanese and U.S. governments plan to hold a meeting of the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee with their foreign and defense chiefs, also known as two-plus-two security talks, in Tokyo as early as in July, according to government sources from both countries.

It will be the first such meeting since the one held in Washington in January 2023.

At the Japan-U.S. summit talks in April, the two sides agreed to review the command and control frameworks of the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military. This discussion is expected to move forward in earnest at the talks.

In Japan, there is a plan to establish a joint operations command center for the SDF at the end of fiscal 2024. The center will provide integrated command of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces, even in peacetime. Both the Japanese and the U.S. sides will continue to review their respective chains of command and troop operations.