Japan May Join AUKUS Alliance Against Beijing

America’s ambassador in Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel, appears to have confirmed that Japan is to join the second tranche of the AUKUS partnership.

U.S. President Joe Biden (C) participates in a trilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (R) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Calif., on March 13, 2023. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has indicated that Japan is “about to become the first additional Pillar II partner” in AUKUS, the tri-nation partnership between Australia, the UK, and the United States.

This would be the first expansion of the tight-knit defence-sharing arrangement outside the original three partners, which includes working together on areas such as nuclear submarine propulsion and quantum technology.