Japan's Defense Ministry has launched the Joint Operations Command, a permanent 240-member organization to centrally command the Self-Defense Forces (SDF). It marks the first major organizational realignment since 2006, when the Joint Staff Office was established to control the SDF's ground, maritime and air branches.

Previously, the Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff, who heads the SDF, spearheaded the operations of SDF units while assisting the defense minister. As duties tended to be saddled on the Joint Staff chief, the head of the new Joint Operations Command will henceforth be dedicated to unit operations.

There has been a growing need for SDF operations across its ground, maritime and air units. How Japan will bolster its rapid response capabilities while thoroughly ensuring civilian control is being put to the test.

The establishment of the Joint Operations Command was alluded to in the three sets of national security documents approved by the Cabinet in 2022, and aims for swift responses in defense missions and disasters. Behind the move also lies a rise in complex situations requiring multiple simultaneous responses.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the spate of North Korean missile launches, a "joint task force" was set up each time.

In recent years, international conflicts are increasingly turning into "hybrid warfare" combining cyberattacks and other nonmilitary means with military actions. Japan has been pressed to respond to such circumstances.

The new Joint Operations Command will also be tasked with exercising counterstrike capabilities to attack enemy bases, as well as coping with the space and cyber sectors.

Another objective of the Joint Operations Command is to step up collaboration with United States forces. Under the previous administration of President Joe Biden, the establishment of a "joint force command" was eyed through strengthening U.S. forces in Japan, to be the counterpart of the SDF's Joint Operations Command. Now in focus is whether the Donald Trump administration will carry on with this line.

While Defense Minister Gen Nakatani stresses that the SDF "will not come under the command and control of the U.S. military," the SDF will inevitably have to rely on information supplied by U.S. forces to exercise Japan's counterstrike capabilities. Whether the SDF can maintain its autonomy will be the key question.

Another challenge will be to ensure there is no confusion in command and control between the new and existing organizations.

The Joint Operations Command came into being amid moves to boost the authority of uniformed SDF personnel. The prime minister of Japan holds supreme command authority over the SDF, and politicians are to closely watch over the forces. We must ensure these principles of civilian control are not neglected.