Between July 12-19, Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, the Japan Self-Defense Forces’ (JSDF) chief of Joint Staff, visited the United States at the official invitation of his U.S. counterpart, General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During his stay, he visited U.S. Strategic Command (STRACTOM), Central Command (CENTCOM), Special Operation Command (SOCOM), and Camp Lejune prior his arrival in Washington DC.
Most notable, however, was Kawano’s D.C. itinerary. In addition to his meeting with General Dempsey and a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a major think tank in Washington, he also had a series of high-level meetings with other high-ranking officials, including Vice President Joseph Biden, Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work. In fact, Kawano became the first Japanese chief of Joint Staff to meet with the vice president of the United States.
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