Japan's Defense Ministry plans to set up a permanent joint command that is tasked with overseeing the country's Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense forces.

Officials say there is a growing need for them to more frequently attend to matters that do not fall into any one of the three branches of the SDF, such as space, cybersecurity and electromagnetic waves.

The permanent entity will be different from an ad-hoc joint task force that is set up during an emergency to better coordinate the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense forces.

The officials plan to establish the new command, composed of roughly 240 members, in Tokyo's Ichigaya district, where the Defense Ministry is located. The ministry plans to include necessary expenses in a budget allocation request for fiscal 2024.

Currently, the chief of the SDF's Joint Staff serves as an aide to the defense minister, as well as an operational commander. But after the permanent joint command center is launched in the next fiscal year, its head will take over the role as operational commander.

The Defense Ministry is considering requesting a record high budget of more than 7.5 trillion yen, or over 50 billion dollars for the next fiscal year. It will likely include the cost of building a vessel equipped with the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system.