The Government of the United States and the Government of Japan held a meeting of the bilateral Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan from 15th to 16th of November 2022. The EDD, established in 2010, provides Washington and Tokyo with a regularized process to discuss ways to sustain and strengthen extended deterrence, which is at the core of the Japan-U.S. Alliance. The U.S. side is co-chaired by Ms. Alexandra Bell, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Department of State, and Mr. Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, while the Japanese side is co-chaired by Mr. Miyamoto Shingo, Deputy Director-General, North American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Ando Atsushi, Deputy Director-General, Defense Policy Bureau, Ministry of Defense.
This round of the EDD furthered President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida's shared understanding on enhancing bilateral discussions on extended deterrence. During the EDD, the United States and Japan shared assessments of the security environment, reviewed capabilities contributing to combined regional deterrence, and discussed outcomes on respective policy documents, including the U.S. National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, and Missile Defense Review, as well as prospects of Japan's upcoming strategic documents.
The two sides held in-depth discussions on extended deterrence. They examined how to leverage diplomatic tools and current and future defense capabilities across domains to support the Alliance's combined deterrence and to respond to potential destabilizing activities both in the region and the world. The two sides discussed the importance of trilateral and multilateral cooperation to strengthen deterrence.
Taking this opportunity, the delegations observed KEEN SWORD 23, the latest in a series of joint-bilateral field training exercises designed to increase combat readiness and interoperability of the JSDF and U.S. forces.
