No American leader has ever been able to accomplish what Chinese leader Xi Jinping was. After decades of compulsive overdependence on US forces, he convinced Japan to take a serious stand against American protection.
Here’s the issue: defending oneself and being critical about defence are two distinct things. On paper at least, Japan now has a sizable and potent protection power.  , Its military strength has been rated# 7 in the world.  ,
And in recent years, Japan has signed agreements with some foreign nations to increase security spending, increased its military spending, and expanded its military presence in Japan. It also has signed agreements with Japan to create a Joint Operations Command, and is pushing the Americans to make their US Forces Japan headquarters operational.  ,
And the Japanese Self Defense Force ( JSDF) is engaging Americans, Australians, and other military forces in more challenging tasks.  ,
That’s the good news. But here’s the not-so-good news: the JSDF still is n’t a real fighting force.  , It’s not prepared to fight a battle in terms of business, transportation, command and control, technology and ammunition, combat-casualty alternative, supply causes, or even psychologically.
It has some good niche capabilities, particularly in the Maritime Self Defense Force ( MSDF).  , Submarines, anti-submarine war, sea and flying security, stone war and naval area combatants are all great – as are Japan’s space capabilities and missile defense.
However, the JSDF’s ability to combine all three services in joint operations poses a significant challenge. Without this, the JSDF is n’t the sum of its parts. However, they eventually try to fix the issue so they are aware of it. It may take some time to get everything right.
Although the pay, cover, and benefits are consistently excellent for JSDF personnel, they also experience decades of poor care and a general lack of respect for Japan’s so-called elite classes.
The JSDF’s size is roughly half what it should be to control the numerous operations. The size of the Air Self Defense Force ( ASDF) and the MSDF in particular should be doubled.  ,
The Ground Self Defense Force ( GSDF) is about the right size ( about 140, 000 ), but it needs to be completely rebuilt to become a warfighting unit rather than a more regimental force.  ,
Recruitment has been a major issue for years. The JSDF typically misses targets by about 20 %, but last year it missed by an incredible 50 %. Yes, 50 %.
The Chinese people is shrinking, but the JSDF’s poor services and lack of respect for it are the root causes of the issue even more.  , With some political leadership and support, there’s no reason JSDF ca n’t attract enough recruits rather than make excuses.
Explore the US 7th Fleet, Japanese Forces, and the Japanese Navy at nearby Funakoshi if you want to see how well US forces and Chinese forces cooperate technically and most importantly.  , This shows what can be done.
However, apart from this positive aspect, how awful is it that the US and Japanese forces still manage to operate together in the least amount of harmony.  ,
Other than the two warships and missile protection, can they do real-world short-notice activities?  , No. Or at least not without a lot of effort to jury-rig a subpar answer.
Subsequent US leaders and human leaders in Japan, Hawaii, and Washington, DC may be ashamed of themselves for achieving so much with the aid of the two countries ‘ army being able to coexist.  ,
The people who make up the majority of the exclusions are known as they are.
Any Japanese official who suggested a more effective operational alliance with US forces was going to face a lot of trouble and probably be fired until about ten years ago because the Japanese were n’t very good either.
The political management and administration of Japan, including those in the MOD, are largely to blame for stifling progress or even imposing restrictions.  , And they often also do.
But is n’t Japan a pacifist country, legally preventing it from developing a “real” military?  , Japan is hardly a pragmatist state. Despite its flaws, it has a genuine defense, and it is happy that the Americans have killed any of their opponents.  ,
Tokyo has always done what it feels is required of it, including the supposedly binding of Japan’s hands to the law. Numerous reinterpretations have been made of the charter. Chinese officials and officials use the law as an excuse to abstain from all engagements. That works very well on the Americans.
Are items truly this poor?  , Well.  ,
For example, where is the cooperative US-Japanese headquarters, where US and Japanese officers coordinate necessary operations and activities in Japan and the surrounding area? Answer: It does n’t exist.
And this is in response to years of US officials saying the “relationship has never been stronger.” When suddenly, a humiliation.
What about the 2015 creation of the Alliance Coordination Mechanism, which both countries have?  , That is not a “place”, quite it’s just an arrangement to get together and “talk”. In other words, flap it if something happens, including if China strikes Taiwan.
Before the Japanese yen suffered a sharp decline, Japan made the decision to increase its defense budget. You have n’t really doubled it; do it now.
The Japanese really do n’t know what to buy with the extra money, which is an even bigger issue. The US anticipates that Japan will be able to solve its problems on its own.  ,
Rather, it should give some experienced war planners to Japan to explain the realistic requirements for a war and allocate resources to these areas. Furthermore, spend money on JSDF officers so it’s a more interesting career.  , Persons are as important as technology.
So how will the Japan-US relationship progress from these? There is no reason Tokyo and Washington ca n’t transform their relationship into one in which allies ‘ combined resources and combat experience make life difficult for them and their allies.  ,
But that requires leadership, mind, effort and may on both sides – at best and mid-levels also. However, Japan appears to be working on incremental improvements, which are good in their own right but not enough quickly or sufficient to significantly increase the US’s ability to defeat China, North Korea, and Russia.
Evidently, both parties suddenly want to do more, but they also need to stoke the pressure of administrative constraints and political lethargy.  , And there’s a feeling, not unfounded, on the US side that it’s overworked and ca n’t afford to do more.
Even though things are far better than they were ten years ago, they are n’t quite where they need to be. There is a lot to be made up for.  , Is there enough day?  , Sometimes, probably no. Beijing also has a voice in the topic.  ,
With a long history in Japan-US safety relationships, Grant Newsham is a former US Marine agent and former US minister. He is the author of the book” When China Attacks: A Warning To America“.