General of the Space Force John W. Jay Raymond visits Japanese business associates

General John W. “Jay” Raymond, the Chief of Space Operations, came to Japan from October 2nd to the 6th in order to improve the bilateral space collaboration and investigate areas for increased areas for enhanced cooperation.

Raymond went to Tokyo to participate in meetings with the Minister of Defense Hamada Yasukazu, the Director General of the National Space Policy Secretariat Yasuyuki Kasai, the Chief of Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Staff General Koji Yamazaki, and the Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces General Shunji Izutsu.

Raymond went to the headquarters of the JASDF Air Defense Command at Yokota Air Base, where he met with Lieutenant General Hiroaki Uchikura, who is the Commander of the Air Defense Command. He also went to the headquarters of the JASDF Space Operations Group at Fuchu Air Base, where he met with Lieutenant General Ryusuke Morikawa, who is the Commander of the Air Support Command.

Throughout the course of his visit, Raymond emphasised that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is a cornerstone of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and he welcomed Japan’s interest in working with the U.S. and other nations that share a similar mindset on establishing international norms of behaviour in space. Raymond also emphasised the importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance as a cornerstone of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

The parties reached a consensus on the significance of maintaining ongoing bilateral cooperation in the field of space security in order to construct a space architecture with increased resiliency. Additionally, they identified potential areas for deeper cooperation, including space domain awareness; satellite communications; and positioning, navigation, and timing.

Raymond emphasised the need of education, training, and exercises on both a bilateral and multinational level as means to further increase interoperability. In addition to this, he brought attention to the intention of the Space Force to fortify its partnership with the JASDF Space Operations Group.

In addition, Raymond extended his gratitude to Japan for its assistance with hosted payloads, stating that these arrangements will improve the capabilities and resiliency of both American and Japanese space systems.

The leaders continued their conversation by sharing their thoughts on the many regional security issues and discussing the various ways in which cooperation in space may be used to solve these issues.

Raymond had prior conversations with U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Lieutenant General Ricky N. Rupp, who is in charge of U.S. Forces Japan.