According to a media report, Japan's protecting power USA wants to install a rapid reaction force in southern Japan in view of China's increasing military operations in the East China Sea.
It is intended to defend remote islands in southwestern Japan, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Tuesday, citing diplomatic sources.
The Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) is expected to emerge within a few years as part of the realignment of the Marine Corps in Japan's Okinawa island prefecture, where the bulk of American troops are stationed in the country.
Japan wants to further strengthen military cooperation with the United States and partners in Europe in view of China's growing bid for power in the region.
To this end, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is holding talks in Europe and the USA this week.
On Friday, Kishida will meet with America's President Joe Biden in Washington.
To better defend its islands facing China in the event of a conflict over Taiwan, Japan is considering establishing dozens of ammunition and weapons depots on these remote islands, according to a recent media report.
Japan is currently undergoing a historic change of course in its security policy and intends to massively increase its defense spending.
For the first time, the country wants to acquire offensive weapons such as cruise missiles that can reach potential targets in China.
The defense budget is to amount to two percent of the country's economic output instead of the previous one percent.
The change of course comes amid what the Tokyo government describes as the "serious and most complicated" security environment since World War II.
According to a recently adopted new security paper, China's military presence in the region represents "the greatest strategic challenge" of all time.
Japan's protecting power, the USA, formulates it in a similar way.