(Update) Japan, U.S. Agree to Improve Command Control Coordination

   Tokyo, March 30 (Jiji Press)--The defense chiefs of Japan and the United States agreed Sunday to improve command control coordination between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military.
   At their meeting in Tokyo, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also confirmed their intentions to further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the two countries' alliance, based on the results of a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump in February.
   At a joint press conference after the meeting, Hegseth said that the U.S. Defense Department "has started Phase 1 of upgrading U.S. Forces Japan to a 'Joint Force Headquarters.'"
   A possible further increase in Japan's defense spending did not come up during the meeting.
   Nakatani told the press conference, "We reaffirmed our commitment to promoting (the strengthening of) the Japan-U.S. alliance's deterrence and response capabilities with a sense of urgency."

(2025/03/30-19:50)