U.S. INDOPACOM AND JAPAN JOINT STAFF COMPLETE EXERCISE KEEN EDGE 2022

CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii –U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Japan Joint Staff completed Keen Edge 22, a bilateral command post exercise conducted Jan. 27 to Feb. 3, 2022, at various locations in Hawaii and Japan.

Keen Edge 22 was a joint command post exercise conducted to increase both nations’ readiness to respond to a variety of crises and contingencies in the Indo-Pacific region while remaining a combat, credible deterrence in the increasingly complex environment.

“Successfully confronting the challenges in the Indo-Pacific requires all like-minded nations to think, act, and operate differently,” said Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “Our alliance with Japan remains strong because of our close engagement, interoperable forces, and our ability to execute at the high end of military operations.”

Keen Edge demonstrated both nations’ commitment toward promoting security and prosperity, and ability to effectively and mutually respond to a regional crisis that might have direct and immediate impact on both countries.

“In this exercise, we further strengthened the interoperability between Japan and the United States through this highly practical training across all domains in an ever more joint and integrated manner,” said General Koji Yamazaki, Chief of Staff, Japan Joint Staff. “Thereby, it has resulted in the enhancement of the Japan-U.S. bilateral joint response capabilities.”

Japanese and U.S. exercises such as Keen Edge, Orient Shield, and Yama Sakura, advance after each iteration employing existing and emerging capabilities through a distributed network on a global scale to successfully respond to modern security challenges.