The psychological warfare campaign of the Islamic regime of Iran in Japan appears to have found a receptive audience among some Japanese anti-war and peace activists.
One of the arguments now being made is that the Japanese government should be held responsible for combat operations carried out during the Iran War by U.S. Air Force F-16s stationed at Misawa Air Base. Misawa’s 35th Fighter Wing operates F-16CM Block 50 Fighting Falcons and specializes in suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD). Aircraft assigned to Misawa were deployed to the Middle East during the conflict.
But an important distinction is being lost in this debate: these are United States Air Force aircraft, not Japanese aircraft. They are operated by American personnel under the U.S. military chain of command. Japan does not select their targets, issue their combat orders, or exercise operational command over their missions simply because the aircraft are normally stationed on Japanese territory.
The presence of U.S. forces in Japan is governed by the U.S.–Japan security alliance and associated agreements. Their mission is not limited exclusively to defending Japan, but the alliance provides a critical component of Japan's deterrence and defense posture. Misawa's 35th Fighter Wing itself defines its mission as providing worldwide deployable forces while protecting U.S. interests in the Pacific and defending Japan through sustained forward presence.
That distinction matters.
China represents the principal long-term strategic challenge identified by the U.S.–Japan alliance, while Japan simultaneously faces significant security concerns involving North Korea and increasingly close Chinese-Russian military cooperation around the Japanese archipelago. Weakening or removing the American military presence would therefore have consequences extending far beyond arguments about the Iran War.
Japanese citizens have every right to debate the presence of U.S. forces, their country's security policy, and the agreements governing American bases. But that debate should be based on an accurate understanding of military command relationships and of what Japan can—and cannot—control.
An American F-16 stationed at Misawa does not become a Japanese combat aircraft because it operates from Japanese soil. Nor does Tokyo automatically become operationally responsible for every mission subsequently assigned to that aircraft by the United States.
Understanding that distinction is essential to having a serious debate about Japan's security and the U.S.–Japan alliance.