News about Japan

[Tom MoodyParticipant]

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces struggling to recruit new members

A recent open day at a Japanese military base near Tokyo was a fun family outing but, despite the games and snacks, the Self-Defense Forces recruitment stand was bereft of visitors.

“This is the reality. The festival is always packed but no one comes,” confessed one of the two soldiers on duty, unwanted leaflets on the table next to a green armoured vehicle.

Japan has massively upped its defense spending in recent years, alarmed by China’s growing assertiveness in the region and the frequency of North Korea’s missile tests.

But a report by a panel of experts in July highlighted an “extremely high” risk that the armed forces would be weakened because of a lack of personnel.

Although numbers fluctuate from year to year, since 1990 the strength of the Self-Defense Forces, as Japan’s military is known, has fallen by more than seven percent to under 230,000.

In 2022 fewer than 4,000 people joined up, undershooting the target by more than half. The last time its objective was met was in 2013.

Many advanced economies are having problems recruiting enough people, with the situation particularly acute in Japan, where one in 10 people is 80 or over.

But according to current and former soldiers who spoke to AFP, it’s not just demographics to blame.

“I was ashamed to say that I was in the Self-Defense Forces. It didn’t make me proud at all,” said Yuichi Kimura, 45, a former parachutist who now runs a firm helping former soldiers get civilian jobs.

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