By Aaron Mehta and Paul Kallender-Umezu
WASHINGTON and TOKYO — A new agreement between the US and Japan sets up the island nation to take a larger role in the politics of the Pacific while opening new opportunities for military research and development.
The updated guidelines for the US-Japan military relationship reflect the changes in the Pacific that have occurred since the last version in 1997.
They also reflect the changes that began last year when the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began the process of moving toward collective self-defense and away from a posture that allowed homeland defense only.
That process is accelerated by the new guidelines agreed to last week at the 2+2 meetings of US Secretary of State John Kerry, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
Speaking after the event, Kishida summed up the new guidelines: "Japan, in close cooperation with the United States, will continue to contribute even more proactively to ensuring peace, stability and prosperity of not only Japan but the Asia-Pacific region and the international community."
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