July 1 marked 70 years since Japan created the Self-Defense Forces.

The anniversary falls at a time of deepening engagement with allies on defense matters, including a steep increase in joint exercises and the visibility of Tokyo's security partnerships.

We look at how the SDF is changing and what this will lead to. A constant theme is whether the changes are consistent with Article 9 of Japan's pacifist Constitution.

AERIAL SHOW OF UNITY

The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Hachinohe Air Base in Aomori Prefecture faces the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Sanriku.

On June 13, three U.S. F-16 fighter jets arrived with a roar, flying in from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture.

Soon after the Fighting Falcons landed, an MSDF fuel tanker approached and began refueling the aircraft.

It was the first exercise involving U.S. military aircraft landing at the SDF base in 70 years.

Also at Hachinohe were an MSDF P3C maritime patrol aircraft and an MSDF SeaGuardian patrol drone, which just took off.

The F-16s later maneuvered with MSDF fighter aircraft, as if to give an aerial show of unity between Japan and the United States.

Senior officials of the Defense Ministry said the U.S. jets were practicing deployments under the U.S. Air Force's Agile Combat Employment, a plan to redistribute assets from major air bases to other locations during a conflict.

One such scenario might be a missile attack by China, for example.

While Hachinohe Air Base was engaged with the F-16s, a similar drill was taking place at the Air Self-Defense Force’s Matsushima Air Base in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture.

SDF JOINS VALIANT SHIELD

The Matsushima and Hachinohe maneuvers this time were within the U.S. military’s Valiant Shield framework, large-scale integrated exercises that are held every two years.

Valiant Shield, scheduled from June 7 to 18, involved more than 10,000 service personnel from all branches of the U.S. forces: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force and Cyber Command.

For the first time in Valiant Shield’s history, about 4,000 SDF personnel participated. This was in response to a U.S. request, the Japan Joint Staff said.

“These exercises were originally carried out by the U.S. military as integrated training for a Pacific war,” said Tetsuo Kotani, a U.S.-Japan security expert at Meikai University.

But this year the maneuvers had a sharp new profile.

“The exercises were conducted at the largest scale ever, and Japan’s SDF participated in them for the first time,” Kotani said. “(This) means Japan and the United States are increasingly unified, looking ahead of contingencies against China."

Valiant Shield tested a range of contingencies. 

The U.S. military carried out live-fire exercises against vessels of the decommissioned fleet in waters near Guam.

At the same time, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier maneuvered with the JS Izumo MSDF destroyer and JS Jingei, a submarine, in waters off the eastern Philippines and Taiwan.

Within Japan, exercises took place at SDF bases in Tokyo and in eight prefectures. These included the simulated repair of a runway on the remote Iwoto island, south of Tokyo.

Warfare training also took place on Amami-Oshima island and elsewhere in the first island chain, which stretches from Japan to the South China Sea.

The first island chain training included anti-ship missiles, which in combat might be deployed against Chinese warships.

In Hokkaido, parachute drops took place within an island defense scenario.

Meanwhile, on June 16 the MSDF participated in the Maritime Cooperative Activity with the militaries of the United States, Canada and the Philippines. The Japanese destroyer JS Kirisame joined the event, which took place in the South China Sea within the first island chain.

A source related to the U.S. government said, “Valiant Shield is usually carried out near the second island chain. But what was remarkable about the exercises this time was that the U.S. military focused on the first island chain including Japan.”

The source added, “Amid the worsening security situation, it meant something that Japan joined the exercises for the first time.”

(This article was written by Nen Satomi and Taketsugu Sato, a senior staff writer.)