Since March this year, a small room at a U.S. base in central Tokyo has been at the heart of a historic transformation set to reshape how the U.S.-Japan alliance coordinates military operations, responds to emergencies and projects power.
Located at the U.S. Army’s Hardy Barracks, the room hosts a team of around a dozen experts from across the military that will play a key role in how U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) and the new Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command (JJOC) plan and execute joint, multiservice missions going forward.
The launch of the JJOC Cooperation Team (JCT) marks the first tangible step in plans announced last year to transform USFJ into a “warfighting” joint force headquarters amid increasing concerns both in Japan and the U.S. over China’s regional assertiveness and its growing military capabilities.
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