TOKYO: The Japanese and U.S. governments are considering locating a U.S. military unit in charge of coordination with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in central Tokyo, it was learned Sunday.

Such a location near Japan’s Defense Ministry is expected to allow both sides to smoothly draw up joint operational plans, informed sources said.

The possible location for the coordination unit is the U.S. military’s Akasaka Press Center in Tokyo’s Roppongi district. The 27,000-square-meter site, which was acquired by the U.S. military shortly after World War II, includes a heliport, a housing facility for officers and a base for the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.

The Tokyo metropolitan government is asking for the return of the site, but the U.S. side is studying an option to locate the coordination unit at the site, believing that it would be relatively easy to develop communications and other equipment there.

Meanwhile, most functions of the U.S. headquarters are expected to be kept at the Yokota base.

In March next year, the Defense Ministry will establish a unified operations command within its premises to centrally command the Ground, Maritime and Air SDFs.

The U.S. side also plans to create a new command around the same time by upgrading the current headquarters at the Yokota base. The new command is expected to take over the authority to command U.S. Forces Japan from the Hawaii-based Indo-Pacific Command.

The Japanese and U.S. governments are currently coordinating at the working level to ensure smooth communication and interoperability between the new commands.

A Japanese government official said the U.S. coordination unit being located in central Tokyo would be welcome, saying, “There’s nothing better than face-to-face communication.”

At a time when the security environment surrounding Japan is deteriorating, such as growing tensions across the Taiwan Strait, it is an urgent task for Japan and the United States to improve their joint operational capabilities.

At a bilateral summit in April, Japan and the United States agreed to work to strengthen operational coordination by reviewing the command systems of the SDF and U.S. Forces Japan.

JIJI Press