The top U.S. military officer for the Indo-Pacific region will travel to Tokyo next week, the Japanese Defense Ministry announced Thursday, where he is expected to discuss a planned revamp to the command and control framework for U.S. forces in Japan.
Self-Defense Forces Chief of Staff Yoshihide Yoshida said that he would hold talks with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief John Aquilino on Monday, when Aquilino makes what is likely to be his final visit to Tokyo as head of the command.
Yoshida told a news conference at the ministry that discussions between the two will focus on strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance’s deterrence and response capabilities, following last week’s summit between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden.