Japanese and United States officials met at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, for the latest Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD) between the two countries.
The meeting, hosted by the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) at Barksdale in early June 2025, gave leaders an opportunity to discuss strategic deterrence, the regional security environment, Alliance defense posture, nuclear and missile defense policy, arms control and risk reduction, and engage in an in-depth exchange on enhancing and deepening mutual understanding on alliance strategies and capabilities. The Japanese delegation included representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of AFGSC, hosted the delegation on a tour of B-52 bombers on the base. AFGSC manages the nation’s three intercontinental ballistic missile wings, the B-52, B-1 and B-2 strategic bomber wings, the B-21 Raider program, and the Air Force Nuclear Command, Control and Communications systems. The command also provides operational and maintenance support to organizations in the nuclear enterprise.
Established in 2010, the EDD provides a formal dialogue between Japan and the U.S., as the two countries have sought to strengthen their alliance. In a significant step, U.S. Forces Japan announced in late 2024 it will transition to a Joint Force Headquarters structure, with the transition beginning in 2025. The move is expected to address escalating threats from China, North Korea and Russia by integrating U.S. air, land, sea, space and cyber forces under a single headquarters in Japan.
“Japan is our indispensable Partner in deterring communist Chinese military aggression,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a March 2025 visit to Tokyo, The Associated Press (AP) reported. The new headquarters “increases our readiness to respond to [any] contingency or crisis, support U.S. operations and help Japan and U.S. forces defend [Japan’s] territory,” he said.
Japan also has sought to form closer ties with NATO. In an April 2025 meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Tokyo, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced his country’s interest in participating in the Alliance’s support to Ukraine. That meeting followed Japan’s opening of a NATO diplomatic mission in Brussels in January 2025. The Japanese cabinet also approved a record $55 billion defense budget for 2025 as part of a five-year buildup under its 2022 national security strategy. By 2027, the country’s defense spending will be 2% of gross domestic product. The country announced plans to deploy U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles in 2025 as part of a “standoff defense system” that includes long-range missiles, satellite networks and unmanned systems, according to the AP. Japan also announced in April 2025 that it will domestically develop long-range, precision-guided missiles to “prevent and eliminate invading troops,” according to the Ministry of Defense.