TOKYO — Japan and the United States are revising their mutual defense guidelines for the first time in nearly two decades to respond to China’s military expansion and expand Japan’s role in regional defense.
An interim report released Wednesday says the US and Japan are pursuing a wider partnership that requires “enhanced capabilities and greater shared responsibilities.”
The revision is the first since 1997. It comes at a time of heightened Japan-China tensions over islands claimed by both countries in the East China Sea, as well as continuing concern about North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons development.
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