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Japan Considers Joining AUKUS to Strengthen Alliance with US Against Beijing


America’s ambassador in Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel, appears to have confirmed that Japan is to join Pillar II of AUKUS.

America’s ambassador in Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel, has written in the Wall Street Journal indicating that Japan was “about to become the first additional Pillar Two partner” in AUKUS, joining Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This would be the first expansion of the defense technology-sharing arrangement outside the original three partners.

However, an Australian government source told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Japan would collaborate on specific defense technology projects under AUKUS but would not necessarily join the partnership as a full member.

A spokesperson for Defense Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on Mr. Emanuel’s article.

Pillar One of AUKUS involves Australia developing nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines, utilizing cutting-edge U.S. and UK technology.

Pillar Two is a mechanism for AUKUS partners to share advanced defense systems including quantum technology, hypersonic missiles, and artificial intelligence.

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Japan would likely be interested in cooperating in several areas, including advanced robotics, cyber initiatives, and anti-submarine warfare.

Announcement May Be This Week

Mr. Emanuel did not say when the official announcement would happen, but it seems likely that it will occur this week when Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Washington to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, followed by a trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“When President Biden and Mr. Kishida meet, they will mark a profound transformation in U.S.-Japan relations, as one era ends and another begins,” the ambassador wrote.

U.S. officials have already confirmed that Washington would “seriously consider” including Japan as a technology partner.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell all but confirmed an announcement would come next week, telling reporters that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were open to other countries joining the arrangement.

“I think you’ll hear that we have something to say about that next week,” Mr. Campbell said.

President Biden has sought to add and strengthen partnerships with U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan and the Philippines, amid Beijing’s military build-up and growing territorial ambitions.

The United Kingdom has repeatedly signaled it is open to other countries joining Pillar Two, with its then Chief of Defence Staff saying in 2021 that AUKUS was not designed as an “exclusive” arrangement and that nations like Japan, New Zealand, and Canada could be involved in the future.

But while Australia has indicated that it is open to Japan collaborating with AUKUS, Mr. Marles suggested in February that it might be some time before that happened.

The defense minister noted the current AUKUS members were “very much focused on working on new innovative technologies amongst the three countries.”

“As Pillar 2 becomes more mature, which is going to take some years … I think there is an opportunity at that point to look at how we can cooperate with Japan in relation to that,” Mr. Marles said.

A senior U.S. official said any decisions about which countries would be involved in Pillar Two would be made by the three existing AUKUS members, whose defense ministers had been considering the questions for many months, based on what those countries could bring to the project.

The other country likely to be amongst the earliest to come on board is New Zealand, which made its interest very clear at bilateral meetings of its foreign and defense ministers with their Australian counterparts earlier this year.

Little has been announced since then, but it was revealed last week that NZ Defense Minister Judith Collins had met with major U.S. defense contractor Honeywell.

A briefing released under the Official Information Act said Honeywell executive chairperson Darius Adamczyk “has indicated he wishes to discuss AUKUS Pillar 2, space, and sustainable technologies.”

“Not a large supplier to Defense in New Zealand, we understand Honeywell is looking to invest to grow its activities in the region.”

A post by Ms. Collins on X said the meeting was “discussing defense, technology, science, and space.”



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