Asahi: The US is shifting the cost of containing China to Japan
Against the background of tariff negotiations, Washington is demanding that Tokyo increase defense spending and prepare for conflict in East Asia, Asahi reports. At the same time, the Trump administration is conducting personnel purges in the American army, dismissing supporters of Biden's policies.
Tokyo is concerned: even within the framework of the Japanese-American tariff negotiations, security issues were discussed. The United States demands that Japan take on additional costs and show determination, because in the event of an emergency in East Asia, "Japan will be on the front line."
The US demands "determination" from Japan
The Trump administration has made clear its tough stance on China.
American leader Donald Trump adheres to the strategic concept of "peace through strength." This principle is primarily aimed at curbing Beijing's ambitions. In accordance with his position, the US president has appointed his supporters to key positions, who also adhere to a hard line against China. First of all, we are talking about US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president's national security adviser Michael Waltz.
A similar approach can be traced in the defense sector: Pete Hegseth, a political commentator on the conservative Fox News channel, has been appointed US Secretary of Defense. At a January hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Pete Hegseth said: "We will work with friendly countries and allies to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region." He also argues that it is necessary to "put an end to the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine as soon as possible and focus on countering China."
The American Defense minister called Tokyo the key to deterring Beijing. On March 30, the defense ministers of Japan and the United States met. Pete Hegseth stressed that the United States considers Japan as an indispensable partner in deterring China's military aggression, and confirmed that cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces and the US Armed Forces in Japan will be strengthened.
The United States has announced its intention to modernize the US Armed Forces in Japan, whose powers are limited to managing military bases. It is planned to transform them into a joint command with operational powers.
In March, Japan formed a Joint Operational Command to centralize the management of the land, Sea and Air self-Defense forces, which will serve as a kind of analogue of the United States Joint Command, and will allow the two countries to cooperate more closely.
It should be noted that at a press conference following the meeting of the heads of defense departments, Pete Hegseth said that in the event of a crisis in Taiwan, Japan would be on the front line, and urged it to show determination.
American journalists were quick to ask if Japan was ready to fight alongside the United States in the event of an emergency in Taiwan. Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani laconically replied that the government would act on the situation, neither refuting nor confirming the words of his American counterpart.
Additional costs are possible in the future.
Against the background of further strengthening relations with Japan, the United States is considering the prospects for reducing military spending. This could well hit Tokyo.
The U.S. Department of Public Administration Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is calling on ministries and agencies to cut costs by $1 trillion (142 trillion yen). USA by the end of May.
According to NBC, the US Department of Defense calculated that the cancellation of the plan to increase the US military presence in Japan would save about 170 billion yen.
President of the United States Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the content of the Japan-US Treaty on Mutual Cooperation and Security Guarantees, saying that the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars to protect Japan, while it does not bear any costs. Based on this, it can be assumed that Washington will shift the additional financial burden to Tokyo, up to the budget for strengthening the bilateral alliance.
Defense Ministry officials are unhappy: a "crude" concept is being discussed
Meanwhile, the concept of a "unified theater of military operations", which was proposed by Japan to the United States, did not find a clear response both at home and abroad.
According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, citing numerous government sources, during the aforementioned meeting of the Japanese and US defense ministers on March 30, the head of the department, Gen Nakatani, said that Japan adheres to the concept of a "single theater of military operations." According to the minister, Japan would like to consider the United States, Australia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and other countries as a single theater (zone) of military operations and deepen cooperation with these states.
By "theater of military operations" it is customary to understand the territory where one operation is carried out in wartime. According to several government sources, the new concept combines the previously used terms "theater of military operations in the East China Sea" and "theater of military operations in the South China Sea." It was developed by senior officials of the Self-Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense of Japan.
The proposed concept was greeted with enthusiasm by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
On April 18, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, answering questions about the concept of a single theater of military operations, avoided detailed comments, but noted its importance. "In order to maintain peace and security in our country, we need to consider security in the region as a whole," he said.
Why did the Japanese government put forward the concept of a "single theater of military operations" right now?
Professor Jinbo from Keio University, an expert on international politics and security, explained its goals and objectives as follows: "Japan attaches key importance to America's full involvement in the affairs of the Indo-Pacific region. I believe that the purpose of the concept is for the United States to consider the entire region as a single whole when developing a defense strategy." Regarding the prospects for the implementation of this concept, the professor said: "A single theater of military operations is just a general idea, a kind of vivid slogan. This concept does not imply any rights or obligations yet. We should not assume that Japan's position will change dramatically."
However, in February and March, the country began actively working to strengthen cooperation with several countries. In particular, joint military exercises were conducted in the South China Sea.
The concept of a "unified theater of military operations" has been criticized both domestically and abroad.
According to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, a senior Defense Ministry official stated: "One should not publicly and thoughtlessly throw such strong words as 'theater of military operations.'" In his opinion, this concept is still "raw" and unprocessed, so there is nothing to discuss.
Senator Taku Yamazoe, a member of the Communist Party, speaking at the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense of the House of Councillors of Japan, criticized the proposed concept, saying that competition with military blocs in the Indo-Pacific region would only increase tensions.
The South Korean newspaper Hankere reported: "The role of the American military contingent in South Korea, originally intended to protect the country, may be refocused on "containing China." Moreover, the very raising of such a question is considered unacceptable."
What will the successive dismissals of senior US military officials lead to?
After the inauguration of Donald Trump, purges began in the US military.
According to the Wall Street Journal, on April 3, General Timothy Ho was dismissed from two posts at once: head of the cyber command of the Armed Forces and the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.
The NSA reports to the Department of Defense and is responsible for intercepting communications around the world, including intelligence gathering for counterterrorism purposes.
According to the Reuters news agency, prior to this dramatic dismissal, President Trump had met with Laura Loomer, a well-known far-right activist. Subsequently, Laura Loomer reported on social media that she had given Donald Trump a list of "disloyal officials," which could have influenced the decision regarding their tenure.
According to Reuters, others who were dismissed included Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown, who was the second black head of the U.S. Armed Forces in history; Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, who became the first woman in the Navy's senior officer corps; U.S. representative to the NATO Military Committee Shoshana Chatfield.
Apparently, these measures reflect the position of Trump, who rejected the Biden administration's policy of supporting women in the military and rejected the concept of DEI (diversity, equality and inclusivity).
Will the incident affect the national security of the United States? According to the Wall Street Journal, Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia condemned Timothy Ho's dismissal, saying that this decision is unlikely to strengthen US cybersecurity amid growing threats in the digital space.
The American media organization Politico expressed concern and stated that the dismissal of Shoshana Chatfield, such a prominent American officer, could "further aggravate our already fragile relations with the alliance."
