Japan and the United States have for the first time jointly drawn up guidelines for extended deterrence, the Japanese government announced Friday.
Tokyo and Washington came up with the guidelines for extended U.S. nuclear and conventional deterrence to protect Japan at a time when the security environment in the region is becoming more severe.
The government, however, kept the specifics of the guidelines secret.
At a news conference, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya stressed the significance of the guidelines, saying they were compiled in line with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's request for enhancing extended deterrence.
"We are eager to work on strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance's deterrence and response capabilities," Iwaya said.
The highly classified guidelines, which the Foreign Ministry said were formulated based on accumulated working-level discussions between the two countries since 2010, are believed to cover standards and intergovernmental procedures for the use of nuclear weapons.
In the region, North Korea is pushing forward nuclear and missile programs, China is expanding its nuclear force and Russia is enhancing military ties with North Korea.
Under these circumstances, Japan and the United States issued a joint ministerial statement in July this year that the alliance "will continue to explore how best to reinforce extended deterrence."
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