Key members of Japan's Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces were wary in 2011 that the U.S. military would take control of the response to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 complex, according to the former head of the Joint Staff and others involved.
The latest accounts by current and former Defense Ministry officials and SDF members laid bare heightened tensions between the allies over the initial response to the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
Rescue and relief operations following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami dubbed "Operation Tomodachi" are now widely known in Japan as having symbolized the strength of the bilateral alliance.