Japan's Self-Defense Forces to join US military exercise in June

Japan's Defense Ministry said the Self-Defense Forces will take part in a large-scale field training exercise by the US military for the first time next month. The ministry announced on Friday that the SDF will join the biennial exercise, Valiant Shield.

It will be held for two weeks from early June in Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Japan. SDF facilities in Japan, except for those in Okinawa and Shikoku, will host some of the drills. The US military and the SDF will jointly rehearse the restoration of a runway on the Island of Ioto in the Pacific.