Japan Self-Defense Forces to Participate for the Second Time in Valiant Shield 2026, Integrating Operations Between Amami and Guam

The document released by the Joint Staff Office on May 22 caught my attention primarily because it explicitly states "Joint Operations Command" in the participating units section. The Japan Self-Defense Forces will participate in the U.S.-hosted multinational joint exercise "Valiant Shield 2026" from June 22 to July 1. The locations will include Self-Defense Forces facilities, U.S. military facilities in Japan, Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, Amami City and Ryukyu Town in Kagoshima Prefecture, surrounding maritime and airspace areas of our country, as well as Pearl Harbor-Hickam Joint Base in Hawaii, Andersen Air Force Base, and the Guam Naval Base.

Changes from 2024

Valiant Shield is a live-fire exercise conducted by the U.S. military in the Western Pacific every two years, and starting in 2024, it will be held as a multinational training event. According to the U.S. Navy's announcement, the focus for 2024 will be on multi-domain integration around Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. This will be the second participation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, but it is not merely a continuation. It has become clearer that training areas will include Ishinomaki and Amami within Japan, treating Hawaii, Guam, and the surrounding areas of Japan as a single training space.

The Reality of Southwest Defense as Indicated by Amami

The mention of Amami City and Ryukyu Town is significant. When considering the defense of the Nansei Islands, focusing solely on Okinawa Island does not reveal the lines of rear support, medical care, transportation, and communication. The Joint Staff Office document only describes the training items as "various tactical training," but the participating units include the Ground Self-Defense Force, various regional commands, the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Air Self-Defense Force, the Air Support Group, the Space Operations Group, the Supply Headquarters, and both Iruma Hospital and Central Hospital. This should be interpreted not as a display of firepower, but as practice for a protracted battle that includes wide-area command, supply, health, and space domains.

Connection to Recent Japan-U.S.-Australia Training

On the same day, May 22, the Joint Staff Office also announced the Japan-U.S.-Australia joint training conducted on May 21 in the airspace east of Okinawa. It was reported that four F-15s from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, one RC-2 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, three F-22s, four F-35As, two F/A-18s from the U.S. military, and P-8A and KC-30A from the Australian Air Force participated. While it cannot be definitively stated that this was a prelude to Valiant Shield, the coordination of air superiority, electronic intelligence, anti-submarine patrol, and aerial refueling in the same airspace can be seen as a foundational alignment for the large-scale training at the end of June.

The Strengths and Vulnerabilities of the Alliance

One point to be evaluated is that the Japan Self-Defense Forces are becoming more deeply integrated into the training design of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command following the establishment of the Joint Operations Command. The training that connects Japan, Guam, and Hawaii reflects a mindset that treats the Taiwan emergency and the Korean Peninsula crisis not as isolated regional issues, but as problems related to maritime traffic routes and rear bases.

However, there is a precariousness here that can easily be overlooked. As the training area expands, the political decisions, adjustments for the use of civilian ports and airports, explanations to local governments, and the speed of medical transport become the limiting factors of operations, rather than the proficiency of the frontline units. What Valiant Shield 2026 will truly test is not just the performance of escort ships and fighter jets, but whether Japan's crisis management can operate on the same operational clock for Guam time and Amami time.

Main Sources

• Joint Staff Office "Regarding Participation in the U.S.-Hosted Multinational Joint Exercise Valiant Shield 2026" May 22, 2026
• Joint Staff Office "Regarding the Implementation of Japan-U.S.-Australia Joint Training" May 22, 2026
• U.S. Navy, Allies Come Together in the Indo-Pacific Valiant Shield 24, June 2024
• Stars and Stripes, Japan for First Time Joins Multinational Valiant Shield Exercise Near Guam, June 2024