The Self-Defense Forces guarded U.S. and Australian military assets a total of 22 times last year during protection missions under security legislation that took effect in 2016, according to the Defense Ministry.
Amid China's rising assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, the SDF guarded Australian assets for the first time in a protection mission during a joint drill in November, which followed bilateral security talks last year.
The 21 other cases involved the guarding of U.S. military assets, down from 25 instances in 2020. The United States was previously the only country covered by SDF protection missions, with the first conducted in May 2017.