
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Japan's critical role in countering Chinese military aggression during his visit to Tokyo on Sunday.
Hegseth announced plans to upgrade the U.S. military command in Japan to a new "war-fighting headquarters" to bolster deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, the Associated Press reported. "Japan is our indispensable partner in deterring Communist Chinese military aggression," Hegseth said.