The commander of U.S. Forces Japan, Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, speaks to reporters at Camp Ichigaya in Tokyo, July 24, 2026. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — U.S. Forces Japan’s transformation into a more operational headquarters has already expanded the command’s ability to coordinate with Japanese forces during a major crisis, its leader said Friday after a joint disaster-response exercise.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost said Joint Exercise Rescue — a four-day command post drill — demonstrated capabilities USFJ could not have fielded a year and a half ago as the command continues shifting from a liaison organization to one designed to plan and coordinate joint operations with Japan.
“Before we began this transformation, we would not have been able to participate in an exercise like [Joint Exercise Rescue] to the extent that we did this week,” USFJ spokesman Col. John Severns told reporters during a media roundtable Friday. “The effects that we had, the cooperation that we were able to engage in, and ultimately, the success that we had was only possible because of the transformation we have been making.”
The exercise simulated a response to a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami similar to the March 2011 disaster that devastated northeastern Japan and triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown.
Jost told reporters the drill allowed USFJ to demonstrate how the command’s restructuring is improving its ability to respond quickly, make decisions faster and coordinate more effectively during a crisis.
“We were able to start to illustrate to our Japanese counterparts what our transformation portends in terms of additional capability, our ability to respond rapidly, be able to plan and decide more rapidly, which all ends up being more effective and efficient for Japan,” he said.
The restructuring is part of a broader effort by Washington and Tokyo to strengthen command and control as China’s military expands its presence in the region.
USFJ has added about 215 personnel since the reorganization began, including roughly 100 who recently arrived to help develop procedures for a Bilateral Operations Coordination Center with Japan’s Joint Operations Command, Jost said.
The command now has enough personnel to sustain around-the-clock operations in logistics, medical support, communications and other key functions, he said.
A team of about 20 U.S. personnel also work from Tokyo’s Akasaka Press Center, helping maintain day-to-day coordination with Japan’s Ministry of Defense and Joint Operations Command at nearby Ichigaya.
During the exercise, U.S. and Japanese personnel quickly established a bilateral coordination center at the ministry, though similar operations could also be run from Yokota Air Base or Akasaka Press Center, Jost said.
Despite speculation that USFJ’s transformation could eventually elevate the command to a four-star headquarters, no such change is planned, Severns said.
“Moving from a headquarters primarily charged with an alliance management mission to one that, in time, will integrate and synchronize operations that span the spectrum of operations from humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and armed conflict is a monumental task,” Jost wrote in a June 2025 opinion piece for The Asahi Shimbun.