SpaceWar.com reports: “As China and North Korea make strategic advances in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan and Italy are increasing their military cooperation to improve their defensive capabilities.

Japan and Italy are in day two of a three-day joint exercise called Rising Sun 24 that is designed to improve defensive capabilities as China and North Korea raise their tactical profiles in the area.

Counting deployment and withdrawal days, the joint Japan Self-Defense Force and Italian Air Force air exercises are scheduled from Sunday through Friday at the Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan and surrounding air space with the aim of improving defensive capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region.

Rising Sun 24’s purpose is to ‘enhance the tactical skills of JASDF and promote mutual understanding and further deepen defense cooperation to realize a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific.’‘

The Indian Ocean and the central and western Pacific Ocean comprise the Indo-Pacific region, while the Misawa Air Base is located west of the border separating China and North Korea.

The joint exercise includes four F-35A fighters from Japan and four more from Italy, plus four Eurofighters.

The exercise also includes two KC-767 refueling aircraft, a CAEW early-warning aircraft and a C-130J transport aircraft…”