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Around 300 Australian Defence Force personnel have joined troops from Japan and the United States as participants in Exercise Yama Sakura 87 for the second consecutive year.
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The trilateral scenario-driven command post exercise kicked off with an opening ceremony with service members from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Australian Defence Force and the US Army at Camp Asaka in Japan on 6 December.
ADF personnel mostly attended from Headquarters 1st (Australian) Division in Brisbane.
Exercise Yama Sakura, which means mountain cherry blossom in Japanese, was first held in 1982 to practise command and control of large-scale combat operations and improve interoperability, with Australia participating for the first time in 2023, after more than a decade as an observer.
Commander 1st (Australian) Division Major General Ash Collingburn said Australia’s participation enhances interoperability and cooperation with some of our closest allies and partners.
“The 1st Australian Division continues to work with allies and partners on training exercises like Yama Sakura 87 to enhance interoperability in preparation for large-scale combat operations,” MAJGEN Collingburn said.
“The exercise will further strengthen the Australia-Japan-US trilateral defence partnership and contribute to regional security, in support of a stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.”
Exercise Yama Sakura 87 will involve around 300 members of the ADF, 1,500 US Army personnel and 5,000 JGSDF in locations across Japan, the US and Australia.
This is the first time Yama Sakura was run simultaneously with the US Army’s Warfighter command post exercise, executed by America’s First Corps, making it the largest Yama Sakura exercise in its over 40-year history.
Japanese Lieutenant General Toshikazu Yamane, the Ground Component Commander, spoke on the trilateral exercise’s importance and the opportunity to improve operational capability and effectiveness.
“I recognise that carrying out YS exercise in Japan, trilaterally among Japan, the US, and Australia is significant,” Lt Gen Yamane said.
“The reason is not only we can improve effectiveness of Japan-US bilateral operational capabilities, but we can contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific by enhancing deterrence and response capabilities, showing domestically and internationally an ironclad relationship.”
