The military exercise called "Keen Sword" (which can be translated into a sharp sword) starts today. This is a biennial joint training organized by the Japanese and US armed forces and which takes place in various Japanese locations.

The Tokyo Ministry of Defense has published some numbers relating to the exercise in question: there will be over 26,000 Japanese soldiers involved in the operations and more than 10,000 US soldiers, also 30 ships and 370 fighter aircraft belonging to both sides. Armed forces of Australia, Great Britain and Canada also participate in support.

The exercise begins today, November 11th and will continue until the 19th. The objective of this training, which will involve the respective navies and air forces, is to enhance the reaction capacity of the two armies to any enemy attacks conducted against the islands administered by the Japan.