United States launches military 'upgrade' in Japan

"It's more urgency [and] it's more cooperation in real time," Hegseth said of the operation during a press conference in Tokyo. "It also increases our readiness to respond to [any] contingency or crisis, support U.S. operations and help Japan and U.S. forces defend [Japan's] territory."

The upgrade means the United States will add additional personnel to the Tokyo installation and U.S. Force Joint Command headquarters at Yokota Air Base.

China's presence and increased military activity in the region is at least partly responsible for the move, and the United States has said China poses a growing threat in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan strait.

"Japan would be on the front lines of any contingency we might face in the Western Pacific, and we stand together in support of each other," Hegseth said. "America and Japan ... we seek peace."

Hegseth said in a Jan 25th letter to the U.S. Joint Forces that the United States' that the upgrade bolsters its mission of restoring the "warrior ethos" and rebuilding the military.

Prior to establishing the Joint Command Forces, Japan relied on an ad-hoc military command to oversee specific operations in the country. The new Joint Operations Command will take on military threats, other contingencies and natural disasters.

The move in Japan comes amid a drastic restructuring of the United States government and the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs, including within the Defense Department, CNN reported.