Japan has lead role countering China’s ‘gray zone’ tactics, retired admiral says

A former Japanese admiral says Japan must lead responses to Chinese ‘gray-zone’ activity near its islands, with U.S. support serving as a key deterrent.

Former Japanese admiral says Japan must lead responses to Chinese gray-zone activity near its islands, with U.S. support serving as a key deterrent. Former Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Adm. Katsuya Yamamoto speaks to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Oct. 20, 2026. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) TOKYO — Despite its alliance with the United States, Japan must lead its response to Chinese probing and harassment along its coastal territories, a former admiral in the Japanese navy said Tuesday. Katsuya Yamamoto, who served as destroyer commander and rear admiral in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, spoke about Chinese “gray zone” tactics at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

Beijing has been ramping up coercive activities that fall short of armed conflict as it sets its sights on reunifying Taiwan, potentially via an invasion or blockade of the island democracy. Yamamoto — now a senior research fellow at the Tokyo-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation think tank — spoke a day after the start of Keen Sword, an exercise involving about 56,000 American and Japanese troops along with forces from seven other countries. The drills rehearse the defense of Japan and run through Oct. 29. They include training in air and missile defense and maritime operations, according to a Monday news release from the exercise’s Combined Joint Information Bureau. “The