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The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (陸上自衛隊 Rikujō Jieitai), or JGSDF, is the army of Japan. The largest of the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo. The present chief of ground staff is General Eiji Kimizuka. The JGSDF numbers around 148,000[1] soldiers.
The JGSDF was formed from July 1, 1954. For decades its primary concern was internal security in Japan and the opposition of any Soviet invasion of Hokkaido, but with the end of the Cold War, this focus is changing.
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Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration in 1945, and, based on Potsdam Declaration Article 9, the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy were dismantled. Both were replaced by United States Armed Forces occupation force, which assumed responsibility for the defense of Japan.
On the outbreak of the Korean War, many U.S. units were transferred to Korea, and Japan was perceived as lacking defences. Encouraged by the American occupation authorities, the Japanese government in July 1950 authorized the establishment of a National Police Reserve, consisting of 75,000 men equipped with light infantry weapons. Under the terms of the Mutual Security Assistance Pact, ratified in 1952 along with the peace treaty Japan had signed with the United States and other countries, United States forces stationed in Japan were to deal with external aggression against Japan while Japanese forces, both ground and maritime, would deal with internal threats and natural disasters. Accordingly, in mid-1952 the National Police Reserve was expanded to 110,000 men and named the National Safety Forces.
The building of the defense ability advanced, and, on July 1, 1954, the National Security Board was reorganized by the Defense Agency, and the National Security Force was reorganized afterwards as the Ground Self-Defense Force, the Marine Self Defense Force, the Air Self-Defense Force.
For a long period, the effectiveness of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to hold off a Soviet invasion of Hokkaido was in doubt, as Zbigniew Brzezinski observed in 1972 that it seemed optimized to fight ‘a Soviet invasion conducted on American patterns of a quarter of a century ago.’[2] While the force is now an efficient army of 148,000,[1] its apparent importance has declined with the end of the Cold War, and attempts to reorient the forces as a whole to new post Cold War missions have been tangled in a series of internal political disputes.
Regionally the JGSDF is organised into five armies, the Northern Army, North Eastern Army, Eastern Army, Central Army, and Western Army.
The GSDF consists of the following tactical units:
JGSDF divisions and brigades are combined arms units with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. They are a regionally independent and permanent entities. The divisions strength varies between 7,000 to 9,000 personnel, the brigades are smaller with 3,000 to 4,000 personnel.
Special Forces units consist of the following:
The JGSDF has two reserve components: rapid-reaction reserve component (即応予備自衛官制度) and main reserve component (一般予備自衛官制度). Members of the rapid-reaction component train 30 days a year. Members of the main reserve train five days a year. As of December 2007, there were 8,425 members of the rapid-reaction reserve component and 22,404 members of the main reserve component.[3]
In 1989, basic training for lower-secondary and upper-secondary academy graduates began in the training brigade and lasted approximately three months. Specialized enlisted and non-commissioned officer (NCO) candidate courses were available in branch schools and qualified NCOs could enter an eight-to-twelve-week officer candidate program. Senior NCOs and graduates of an eighty-week NCO pilot course were eligible to enter officer candidate schools, as were graduates of the National Defense Academy at Yokosuka and graduates of four-year all universities. Advanced technical, flight, medical and command and staff officer courses were also run by the JGSDF. Like the maritime and air forces, the JGSDF ran a youth cadet program offering technical training to lower-secondary school graduates below military age in return for a promise of enlistment.
Because of population density and urbanization on the Japanese islands, only limited areas are available for large-scale training, and, even in these areas, noise restrictions are extensive. The JGSDF has adapted to these conditions by conducting command post exercises, map maneuvers, investing in simulators and other training programs, as well as conducting live fire exercises overseas at locations such as the Yakima Training Center in the United States.
The JGSDF operates 469 aircraft, including 458 helicopters.[6]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft Super King Air | United States | Utility transport | LR-2 | 6 | |
| Bell UH-1 | United States | Utility helicopter | UH-1H
UH-1J |
146 | Built by Fuji(118 UH-1J in service by April 2010) |
| Bell AH-1 Cobra | United States | Attack helicopter | AH-1S | 84 | Built by Fuji |
| Boeing AH-64 Apache | United States | Attack helicopter | AH-64DJP | 10 | Built by Fuji, 62 planned, further procurement cancelled |
| Boeing CH-47 Chinook | United States | Transport helicopter | CH-47J
CH-47JA |
54 | Built by Kawasaki |
| Enstrom 480 | United States | Trainer helicopter | TH-480B | 1 | 30 planned, Under delivery[7] |
| Eurocopter EC 225 | France | VIP helicopter | EC 225LP | 3 | Replacing the AS332L[8][9] |
| Fuji FFOS | Japan | Unmanned observation helicopter | [10] | ||
| Kawasaki OH-1 | Japan | Scout/Attack helicopter | OH-1 | 34 | Under delivery |
| MD Helicopters MD 500 | Japan | Scout helicopter | OH-6D | 111 | Built by Kawasaki. Being slowly phased out |
| Mitsubishi MU-2 | Japan | Liaison | LR-1 | 5 | |
| UH-60 Black Hawk | United States | Transport helicopter | UH-60JA | 29 | Built by Mitsubishi |
| Yamaha RMAX | Japan | Unmanned observation helicopter | [11] |
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