Japan, U.S., Australia to Start Drill on Invasion Scenario

Tokyo, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, and the U.S. and Australian militaries held an opening ceremony Wednesday for their joint command post exercise to be staged at multiple locations in Japan.

The exercise, Yama Sakura, will involve about 5,200 GSDF members, some 1,100 U.S. Army and Marine Corps personnel, and roughly 200 Australian Army soldiers, according to the GSDF. The ceremony was held at the GSDF's Camp Asaka, located in Tokyo's Nerima Ward and neighboring municipalities.

The drill envisions a scenario of hypothetical adversaries conducting amphibious invasions of the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, and the Kyushu region and Nansei islands in the country's southwestern region.

The three countries will coordinate their response to the two-front contingency, apparently with threats from China and Russia in mind.

At a press conference after the ceremony, GSDF Lt. Gen. Makoto Endo, commander of the Ground Component Command, said, "The three-way drill in Japan would demonstrate our country's close ties with the allied and like-minded countries both at home and abroad, and further strengthen deterrence and response capabilities."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]