The Defense Ministry will next month establish a new office aimed at tackling the challenge of how best to defend Japan¡¯s vulnerable Pacific flank, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has announced.
¡°Next month, we will establish a new Pacific Defense Planning Office to conduct a comprehensive review of the necessary Self-Defense Forces structure for Pacific defense and to promote related initiatives in a unified and proactive manner,¡± Koizumi said Saturday.?
Visiting the remote island of Iwoto, formerly Iwo Jima, for a joint U.S.-Japan memorial ceremony some 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo in the Pacific, Koizumi noted that Japan¡¯s ¡°adversaries¡± have been expanding and intensifying their activities in the airspace and waters around the country, making boosting the country¡¯s defense posture in the vast Pacific region ¡°an urgent priority.¡±
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