U.S.-Japan Talk of ‘Severe’ Nuclear Threat, Agree on Nuclear Deterrence Guidelines

Dec. 29—On Dec. 26, the U.S. and Japanese governments issued a joint statement announcing that they had formulated “Guidelines for Extended Deterrence.” The opening sentence of the brief, three-paragraph statement has a warlike tone, asserting that the U.S.-Japan alliance “faces an increasingly severe strategic and nuclear threat environment.” Therefore, the two governments “are committed to reinforcing extended deterrence in order to promote regional stability and deter the outbreak of conflict,” and the Guidelines “also address strategic messaging to maximize deterrence and enhance measures for U.S. extended deterrence, bolstered by Japan’s defense capabilities.”

Japan is the only nation that has ever been nuclear bombed-- and that in August 1945 by their now-ally, the United States.

The U.S. “extends deterrence”—including its nuclear umbrella—over 30 U.S. “allies and partners,” according to an August 8, 2024 U.S. Congressional Research Service report. Japan and the U.S. have carried out an “Extended Deterrence Dialogue” (EDD) since 2010, but this is the first time that guidelines for activating U.S. “deterrence” were drawn up jointly by the two nations, Japan’s Jiji Press reported. According to the State Department, the decision to “enhance” U.S. “deterrence” for Japan was taken at the April 10 Japan-U.S. Summit between President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida.

Two Assistant Secretary-level EDD’s plus the first-ever Ministerial level EDD took place after that summit.The State Department’s language on the meetings which followed reads like preparation for U.S. nuclear use, in the name of “deterring” it. The State Department report on the June 17, 2024 EDD spoke of the need to “enhance the regional deterrent effect of U.S. nuclear assets.” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin prefaced the July 28 ministerial-level EDDby naming China, Russia and North Korea as the targets of their concern, the Washington correspondent of Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The State Department report on the Dec. 10-12 EDD, which finalized the new guidelines, again emphasized Russia, North Korea and China as the reason for their “deepened discussion on the relationship between nuclear and non-nuclear matters … on coordinating deterrence messaging and escalation management practices during both peacetime and contingencies, and on bilateral coordination through the Alliance Coordination Mechanism throughout every phase of a developing situation.”

The Guidelines themselves remain secret.