U.S. and Japanese Navy officials hope that new legislature by the Japanese parliament will allow the JMSDF to play a more active role in the Pacific.
By W_misaki (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Vice Adm. Robert Thomas, commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, said he expects revisions headed for approval in Japan’s parliament will make it easier for the Japanese and U.S. navies to cooperate more smoothly in the Indian and Pacific oceans and in “multilateral exercises across the region.”