After Kishida's visit to the United States this time, the United States and Japan are currently trying to solve this problem, and if a four-star general is added, it means that both the US forces in Japan and South Korea have achieved unity in the chain of command, which is very crucial for the rapid mobilization of troops.
Producer: Chuantuo Think Tank (No. 5107 Exclusive Debut)
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida's trip to the United States this time is a key turning point in the situation in the western Pacific, and the U.S.-Japan alliance needs to be significantly upgraded and the chain of command of joint operations needs to be resolved, with the aim of being able to quickly implement a military response to major emergencies.
Picture interpretation: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida traveled to the United States to solve the problem of the military chain of command, involving whether the United States and Japan can move troops simultaneously and quickly
At present, there is a problem of slow response in the chain of command of the US-Japan alliance, don't think that there is a US military stationed in Japan, as if the US military and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces can act in unison, and the headquarters of the US forces in Japan is in Yokota, which is on the west side of Tokyo, but once a major incident occurs in Japan, it is not the US military command in Japan that needs to be consulted, but the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii.
The reason is that the supreme commander of the U.S. forces stationed in Japan is a three-star lieutenant general, whose rank is smaller than Japan's chief of staff for unification, and is equivalent to the rank of general, so it is impossible for Japan's chief of staff to ask for instructions from the U.S. forces stationed in Japan that are one level lower than himself, he can only go to the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command is a four-star general, but Hawaii and Japan are several time zones apart, which leads to the fact that when Yoshida Keihide encounters an emergency and needs to report his work, the Indo-Pacific Command either does not go to work or is about to get off work.
Interpretation of the picture: Japanese Aegis ship
Picture interpretation: The situation of the US-Japan alliance is that at any time, where there are US troops, it is the Japanese Self-Defense Forces
This problem will make it impossible for the United States and Japan to respond in a timely manner when they encounter major emergencies. Therefore, this time Kishida went to the United States, and it is this problem that he wants to solve. The current solution is to appoint a four-star general in charge of the US forces stationed in Japan, who will be fully responsible for the movement of US forces in Japan, so that it can be docked with the "Integrated Command" newly established by the Ministry of Defense in October 23, which is equivalent to the Joint Operations Command, which can quickly mobilize the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and if the US forces stationed in Japan are taken over by a four-star general, then the US forces stationed in Japan and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces will have achieved unity in the chain of command, and combat units can be mobilized immediately when a major event occurs.
This model has already been formed on the side of the US military stationed in South Korea, and the US military stationed in South Korea does not have this problem, because their supreme commander is a four-star general, so there is no chain of command between the US military stationed in South Korea and the South Korean General Staff, and it can be responded to immediately.
印太司令部司令John Aquilino
You may not have noticed that on March 20, some time ago, John Aquilino, commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, testified in Congress, when he told Congress about the time node of 2027, which once attracted global attention, and he went to Congress to testify with the commander of the US forces in South Korea.
After Kishida's visit to the United States this time, the United States and Japan are currently trying to solve this problem, and if a four-star general is added, it means that both the US forces in Japan and South Korea have achieved unity in the chain of command, which is very crucial for the rapid mobilization of troops.
Picture interpretation: Japan does not currently have nuclear submarines
The second important purpose of Kishida's trip to the United States is to explore the possibility of Japan joining the Aukus Alliance, which has allowed Australia to start a nuclear submarine project and build a new nuclear submarine shipyard in Adelaide, South Australia, which is a combat capability that Japan very much hopes to acquire.
We should see from this that the United States and Japan have upgraded their alliance relationship, which has deeply changed the situation in which the United States looks after Japan by stationing troops after World War II, and now the US military hopes that Japan will share the operational pressure of the US military in the Western Pacific by developing military capabilities, and Japan is also trying to use this window to turn the Self-Defense Forces into a normal army, for example, the United States has now opened its exports to Japan F35B, cruise missiles, There is also the possibility of allowing Japan to develop its own hypersonic weapons, or even allowing Japan to develop sixth-generation aircraft with the United Kingdom out of the American industrial system, which was not possible before.
Picture interpretation: Japan has purchased F-35B fighters, forming a light aircraft carrier combat system
At present, in order to allow Japan to actively participate in the confrontation in the Western Pacific, the US military has opened many channels for Japan. If Japan is allowed to join the AUKUS alliance, does that mean that Japan may also acquire nuclear submarines, you must understand that nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers with catapults are Japan's two red lines, which must not be touched before, so it is difficult to talk about it now. This article was first published exclusively by @川陀智库 and is not reproduced in any form. #文章首发挑战赛#