Photos

A Navy E-2D Hawkeye flies over the Sea of Japan, April 12, 2022, during a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Japan.

A Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey and a Japanese V-22 Osprey conduct a formation flight by Mount Fuji, Japan, March 17, 2022.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Mobile Bay and the USS Spruance sail in formation with Japanese vessels in the Philippine Sea, Feb. 16, 2022, during Jungle Warfare, a large-scale field training exercise.

Sailors fight a simulated fire during a joint damage control drill with Japanese troops aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in Yokosuka, Japan, Feb. 1, 2022.

Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs fly in formation with Japanese aircraft during Operation Iron Dagger near Yokota Air Base, Japan, Dec. 9, 2021. The operation signals the continuing effort to support the Indo-Pacific Command’s dynamic force employment concept through agile combat employment.

The USS Shiloh, USS Lake Champlain, USS Carl Vinson and USS Milius sail alongside Japanese vessels during bilateral operations in the South China Sea, Oct. 30, 2021.

Air Force Col. Jesse J. Friedel and Japan Air Self-Defense Force Maj. Gen. Takahiro Kubota salute in honor of prisoners of war and missing in action personnel during the POW and MIA remembrance retreat ceremony at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Sept. 3, 2021.

The USS New Orleans sails alongside the Japanese ship JS Shimokita during exercise Noble Union in the Philippine Sea, Aug. 23, 2021. The exercise is designed to inform future force design and experimentation efforts.

The USS Rafael Peralta sails alongside the Japanese destroyer JS Makinami in the Coral Sea, June 28, 2021.

U.S. sailors and Marines conduct bilateral operations with Japanese troops in the Philippine Sea, June 13, 2021.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi at Japan’s Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, March 16, 2021.

Air Force Senior Airman Keion Buckley checks Japanese bundles before loading onto a C-130J Super Hercules for an equipment airdrop during Airborne 21 at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 10, 2021. The exercise allowed U.S. and Japanese troops to work alongside one another while improving the readiness of both forces.

A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft drops Japanese soldiers over Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, Japan, March 9, 2021, during Airborne 21 exercise, considered the largest U.S.-Japan airborne operation in history.

Sailors man watch stations aboard the USS Barry during a replenishment with the JS Towada in the East China Sea, Feb. 10, 2021. U.S. and Japanese troops trained and operated together to improve interoperability and strengthen joint capabilities.

The Coast Guard cutter Kimball conducts exercises with the Japanese coast guard vessel Akitsushima near the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, Feb. 21, 2021.

A sailor conducts a dive during a mine warfare exercise with Japanese troops at Ise Bay, Japan, Feb. 1, 2021.

Marines and Japanese troops fast-rope out of an aircraft during Forest Light in Japan, Dec. 10, 2020. The annual bilateral exercise strengthens the interoperability and readiness of U.S. and Japanese troops.

Army Pfc. Katherine Bui raises the American flag alongside a Japanese service member during a colors ceremony at Camp Kengun, Japan, Dec. 8, 2020.

Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets with Marines assigned to the Marine Security Group at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Nov. 12, 2019.

An F-15C Eagle participates in a training exercise based at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Oct. 3, 2019.