Prior to establishing the JJOC, the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) relied on an ad-hoc command to oversee specific operations that reported to the Joint Staff Office (JSO) with the chief of the ...

Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, the first commander of Japan’s Joint Operations Command, reviews troops ahead of the activation ceremony at Camp Ichigaya in central Tokyo, March 24, 2025.

Then-Commandant of the United States Marine Corps Gen. David H. Berger (left) poses for a photo with Japan’s Vice Chief of Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Nagumo Kenichiro in Tokyo, Japan, May 15, 2023.