The governments of the U.S. and Japan have reaffirmed the mutual commitment to building a replacement facility to replace Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in Okinawa. As planned, the new Futenma would be built in “adjacent waters.” The agreement is one of many that address security relations between the two countries. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, and their Japanese counterparts – foreign affairs minister Fumio Kishida and defense minister Gen Nakatani – announced terms of the agreement in a joint statement on April 27. Other relevant items in the agreement include:
* Japanese approval of the redeployment of Navy P-8 maritime patrol aircraft to Kadena Air Base; deployment of Air Force Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles to Misawa Air Base; deployment of the amphibious transport dock Green Bay and Marine Corps F-35B joint strike fighters to Japan; deployment of more Aegis-class warships to Yokosuka Naval Base, and replacement of the carrier George Washington with the nuclear-powered carrier Ronald Reagan.
* Expansion of anti-ballistic missile defense systems, including new radar, within Japan.
* Cooperation on issues relating to cyber-security, humanitarian assistance, and the Korean peninsula.
