Japan and the United States launched their biggest joint military exercises on Friday with the South Korean military taking part as an Observer. Japanese Defence Ministry says following straight on the heels of similar drills held in the Yellow Sea between the US and South Korea, the excercises in Japan will run for eight days at bases across Japan and in the air and on waters around them. The drills will involve more than 34,000 Japanese and 10,000 American troops. In terms of hardware, about 400 planes and 60 warships will participate, including the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which took part in the Korean peninsula exercises, as well as Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's next- generation Aegis-equipped battle ships. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the US- Japan joint exercise and their alliance should not damage the interests of third parties, including China.