Japan and the United States (US) signed a new set of defence agreements on 27 April 2015 that allow for greater co-operation between their militaries. Both the countries have revised their defence deal after 18 years to deal with growing global security concern.
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- The agreement was signed by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, and the Japanese Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida, and Defense Minister, Gen Nakatani.
- The agreement in the form of new guidelines was released at the start of an official visit to the US by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- The guidelines allow for global cooperation militarily, ranging from defence against ballistic missile, cyber and space attacks as well as maritime security.
- It also allows the exercise of the right to collective self-defence, that is, Japan could shoot down missiles heading toward the United States and come to the aid of third countries under attack.
- The new guidelines would also allow the US and Japanese militaries to work more closely together in the event of a conflict in the East China Sea or in North Korea.
- It removed the constraints of geography, as a result, the US-Japan cooperation had moved from focus on local issues to global issues.
- The revised guidelines need the reinterpretation of the constitution of Japan.
- The new defense guidelines are part of Abe’s bid to soften Japan’s constitutional commitment to pacifism.
- The US and Japan established defence guidelines in 1978, at the height of the Cold War, and in 1997, when China’s military build-up was still in its infancy.
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The new guidelines are the first to reflect China’s greater military heft and push for influence in the region.
- ‘Nuts’ and ‘Bolts of’ Japan:
- Capital: Tokyo
- Currency: Japanese Yen
- Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe
- Language: Japanese
- National Sport: Sumo
