Overview
- Japan’s defense ministry will set up a Pacific Defense Planning Office in April to lead work on its Pacific flank.
- Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the office will review Self-Defense Forces structure and drive projects through one team.
- He framed the shift as urgent because Chinese ships and aircraft are operating more often in nearby waters and skies.
- Officials are studying options such as new harbor works and a radar network on remote islands including Iwoto.
- Reporting also says Japan is weighing an air defense zone over the Ogasawara area, where gaps in formal coverage remain.