US, Japanese troops begin island-defense drills to prevent ‘war before it happens’

Col. Bart Lambert, assistant chief of staff, G-3 Operations, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, leads Marines in a salute during the Iron Fist opening ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Feb. 23, 2026. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — U.S. Marines and their Japanese counterparts have kicked off a series of amphibious exercises aimed at strengthening island defense amid increasing regional tensions.

Monday’s ceremony on Camp Hansen — attended by 50 Marines and Navy sailors and 50 Japanese soldiers — marked the start of Iron Fist’s live exercise phase, including maritime maneuvers, landing operations and ground combat exercises. The series runs through March 9.

This year’s exercise takes place as Japan faces “the most severe security environment” since the end of World War II, Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, commander of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, told reporters after the ceremony.

“We can’t deny the possibility that a situation similar to the Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen anywhere in the world,” he said. “I’m convinced that maintaining such capability will deter aggression, leading to the prevention of war before it happens.”

Brig. Gen. Ryan Hoyle, commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, greets Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, head of Japan's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, during the Iron Fist opening ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Feb. 23, 2026. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

Large Chinese military exercises around Taiwan have spurred increased attention to island defense by the United States and Japan. Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to unify self-governing Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary.

In December, Beijing carried out another military exercise that encircled the island and included missile launches. Its coast guard also spent a record 357 days in 2025 patrolling waters near the Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

The Iron Fist exercise is “not designed to target any specific country,” but to ensure bilateral forces can “rapidly react to counter aggression against Japan and other regional allies and partners,” Brig. Gen. Ryan Hoyle, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade commander, told reporters after the ceremony.

“Regardless of location, our combined capabilities can be applied anywhere within the region in the maritime environment,” he said.

The 20th iteration of Iron Fist is taking place throughout Japan, including 19 spots — three more than last year — in the Nansei Islands, according to a Jan. 20 news release from the Okinawa Defense Bureau. Also known as Ryukyu, the island chain stretches southwest from Kyushu toward Taiwan.

U.S. Marine and Japanese color guards display their flags during the Iron Fist opening ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Feb. 23, 2026 (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

Drills are planned on Okinawa at Hansen’s central training area and Kin Blue and Red beaches, according to the Ground Self-Defense Force. About 800 U.S. Marines and 2,100 U.S. sailors will participate alongside about 2,000 members of the Japan Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces.

The exercise was to include two Japanese V-22 Ospreys operating for the first time out of U.S. facilities on Okinawa.

However, Japan decided to halt training with the tiltrotor aircraft on the island, a Japan Ground Staff spokesman told Stars and Stripes on Thursday. Some Japanese government officials must speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.

Okinawa prefecture through the Okinawa Defense Bureau — an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Defense — requested last month that the U.S. and Japan not fly Ospreys during the exercise.

The decision was due to a change in “training plans” and not because of the prefecture’s objections, Musha said Monday.