The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct the

away from their

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

focus on the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

to a new focus on

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, especially in respect of the dispute over the Senkaku Islands. The JGSDF operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of

Ichigaya is an area in the eastern portion of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Places in Ichigaya *Hosei University Ichigaya Campus *Chuo University Graduate School *Ministry of Defense headquarters: Formerly GHQ of the Imperial Japanese Army; following World W ...

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. The present chief of staff is General Yoshihide Yoshida. The JGSDF numbered around 150,000 soldiers in 2018.IISS Military Balance 2018, Routledge, London, 2018. p.271

History

20th century

Soon after the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

in 1945 with Japan accepting the

Potsdam Declaration The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, Uni ...

, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

were dismantled by the orders of

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milit ...

(SCAP). Both were replaced by the United States Armed Forces occupation force, which assumed responsibility for the external defense of Japan.

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

insisted that Japan have no military that could be used to settle international disputes or even for its own self defense. Accordingly, during the development of the Japan Constitution in 1946, Article 9 was added stating "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes." "In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized." It is believed that the Special

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

Session leader

Hitoshi Ashida was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō Jik ...

added the clause “In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph” in the middle of Article 9. The intent of this phrasing was to allow for the creation of military forces in Japan which would be for the defense of Japan, and not for settling international disputes. Then Prime Minister

Shigeru Yoshida (22 September 1878 – 20 October 1967) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954. Yoshida was one of the longest-serving Japanese prime ministers, and is the third-long ...

accepted this wording and was able to convince the US to allow Japan to operate "

self defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

" forces. Under the terms of the

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan The , more commonly known as the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in English and as the or just in Japanese, is a treaty that permits the presence of U.S. military bases on Japanese soil, and commits the two nations to defend each other if one or th ...

, 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. Only after the outbreak of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

did MacArthur authorise Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida to establish a 75,000 strong

National Police Reserve The , or NPR, was a lightly armed national police force established in August 1950 during the Allied occupation of Japan. In October 1952, it was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed as the . On July 1, 1954, it was reorganized as the Japan Groun ...

. The next expansion came in 1952, when as a compromise in the face of U.S. calls to build up an army of 350,000, the National Police Reserve was re-titled the National Safety Force and expanded to 110,000. In 1954, Prime Minister Yoshida impelled the Diet to accept the Defence Agency Establishment and the Self-Defence Force Laws, which explicitly authorized the forces to ‘defend Japan against direct and indirect aggression, and when necessary to maintain public order.’ On July 1, 1954, the National Security Board was reorganized as the Defense Agency, and the National Security Force was reorganized afterwards as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

), the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

(

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

) and the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfa ...

(

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

), with General

Keizō Hayashi was a Japanese civil servant, general officer and the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council (JSC), a post equivalent to Chief of the General Staff in other countries, from 1954 to 1964. He was instrumental in founding the post-war Japan Self-De ...

appointed as the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council—professional head of the three branches. The enabling legislation for this was the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act ct No. 165 of 1954 That year the actual strength of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defence Forces reached 146,285, armed mainly with U.S. World War II vintage equipment. At least up until the 1970s, the Ground SDF was not built up to the point required to defeat an invasion attempt from the north – informed officials estimated that while ammunition provisions were officially said to be enough to last for two months, in actuality it would be used up in a week or less. During the 1970s, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force possessed a dubious ability to hold off a Soviet invasion of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Zbigniew Brzezinski Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzeziński ( , ; March 28, 1928 – May 26, 2017), or Zbig, was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist. He served as a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was President Jimmy Carter's ...

observed in 1972 that it seemed optimized to fight "a Soviet invasion conducted on American patterns of a quarter of a century ago." Three years later in 1975, Osamu Kaihara, the former secretary of the National Defence Council, was reported in ''U.S. News & World Report'' that the SDF would have been totally ineffective in any Soviet attack, as the Ground SDF could only fight as an army for three to four days. While the force is now an efficient army of around 150,000, IISS 2010, pp. 408–411 its apparent importance had, until recently, seemingly declined with the end of the

, 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.

21st century

On March 27, 2004, the Japan Defense Agency activated the Special Operations Group with the mandate under the JGSDF as its Counter-terrorist unit. In 2015, the Japanese Diet passed a law that allowed for the reinterpretation of Article 9 of the constitution. JSDF personnel train with the American forces in amphibious assault units designed to take outlying islands. Japan activated its first marine unit since World War II on April 7, 2018. The marines of the

Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade The is a marine unit of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) responsible for conducting amphibious operations. The ARDB is based at Camp Ainoura in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. History In light of tensions over the Senkaku Islands and the d ...

are trained to counter invaders from occupying Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea. British troops of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

(HAC) exercised together for the first time with Japanese GSDF soldiers in Oyama, Shizuoka prefecture on 2 October 2018. This also marked the first time in history that foreign soldiers other than Americans exercised on Japanese soil. The purpose was to improve their strategic partnership and security cooperation. Speaking about tensions regarding

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders said that Japan "won't have to fight alone." The

JGSDF The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

and the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

conducted their first joint military exercise in the Indian state of

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

from 27 October to 18 November 2018. It primarily consisted of anti-terror drills and improving bilateral cooperation with 60 Japanese and Indian officers. In March 2019, the Ministry of Defense established its first regional cyber protection unit in the Western Army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) to safeguard defense communications from cyber attacks, such as for personnel deployed on remote islands with no established secure lines. The Japanese government approved the first ever JSDF dispatch to a peacekeeping operation that is not led by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in 2019. JGSDF officers monitored the cease-fire between Israel and Egypt at the Multinational Force and Observers command in the

Sinai peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

from 19 April until 30 November 2019. From September to the end of November 2021, the GSDF conducted nationwide drills with all units including 100,000 personnel, 20,000 vehicles, 120 aircraft and the

JMSDF , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

and

JASDF The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. ...

as well as a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

landing ship. These were the largest GSDF exercises since after the

in 1993. The exercises are based on 2019 National Defense Program Guidelines to strengthen defense capabilities.

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Nobuo Kishi is a Japanese politician who serves as the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for National Security Policy and Nuclear Disarmament Issues. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he previously served as Minister of Defense of Japan from S ...

said it is to effectively respond to various situations.

Current deployment

Personnel

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 A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

(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 is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

and graduates of all four-year universities. Advanced technical, flight, medical and command and staff officer courses were also run by the JGSDF. Like the

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

and

air forces An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

, the JGSDF ran a youth

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

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 manoeuvres, investing in simulators and other training programs, as well as conducting live fire exercises overseas at locations such as the

Yakima Training Center The Yakima Training Center (YTC) is a United States Army training center, used for maneuver training, Land Warrior system testing and as a live fire exercise area. It is located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Washington, bound ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The JGSDF has two reserve components: the rapid-reaction reserve component (即応予備自衛官制度) and the 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.

Equipment

Image:Type10MBT.jpg, Type 10 Main Battle Tank File:Firing Type 90 tank.jpg, Type 90 Main Battle Tank File:JGSDF Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle(26-6348) left front view at Camp Nihonbara October 1, 2017 02.jpg,

Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle The is a wheeled armored fighting vehicle of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Overview The ''Type 16'' maneuver combat vehicle (MCV) equips designated combat units. Due to its light weight and small size, it is designed for easy depl ...

File:JGSDF_type_87_Self-Propelled_Anti-Aircraft_Gun_02.jpg,

Type 87 Self-propelled Anti-aircraft Gun The is a Japanese air defense weapon built around the Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon system as used on the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. The system uses a modified Type 74 tank chassis. It is also nicknamed by field officers as "Guntank ...

File:JGSDF APC Type 96 at JGSDF Camp Shimoshizu 02.jpg,

Type 96 Armored Personnel Carrier The is an armoured vehicle that entered service with Japan in 1996. This vehicle complements the existing fleet of tracked Type 73 Armored Personnel Carriers already in service. Description The driver sits on the right side of the vehicle wit ...

File:Running JGSDF Type89 IFV at JGSDF Review of Troops.jpg, Type 89 Infantry Fighting Vehicle File:Japanese - Type 87 Scout - 1.jpg, Type 87 Armoured Recon and Patrol Vehicle File:AH-64D_%26_AH-1S.JPG, JGSDF AH-64D & AH-1S File:99式自走155mmりゅう弾砲_(8464256105).jpg,

Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer The is a self-propelled howitzer of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, which was developed as successor of the Type 75 155 mm Self-propelled howitzer. History The development of Type 99 self-propelled howitzer began in 1985 in order to re ...

File:Type_12_Surface-to-Ship_Missile.jpg,

Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile The Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12式地対艦誘導弾) is a truck-mounted anti-ship missile developed by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2012. It is an upgrade of the Type 88 Surface-to-Ship Missile. The Type 12 features INS with mi ...

Organisation

Major Command

Ground Component Command (transparent background)

is headquartered in

Nerima is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City. , the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons per km2, while 15,326 f ...

. It was reorganized from the Central Readiness Force on March 27, 2018. In wartime, it would take command of two to five armies.

Armies

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Locations

Northern Army, headquartered in

Sapporo, Hokkaido ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

North Eastern Army, headquartered in

Sendai, Miyagi is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date ...

Eastern Army, headquartered in

Asaka, Saitama 260px, Pond at JGSDF Camp Asaka 260px, former IJA Officer Preparatory School at JGSDF Camp Asaka is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 143,195 and a population density of 7800 persons per km² ...

Central Army, headquartered in

Itami, Hyōgo 270px, Gogadzuka Kofun 270px, Aerial view of Itami city center 270px, Konoike inari shihi 270px, Arioka Castle ruins ) is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,215 in 83580 households and a ...

Western Army, headquartered at

Kumamoto, Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,00 ...

Division

JGSDF currently has 9 active duty divisions (1 armored, 8 infantry) * JGSDF 1st Division

1st Division, in

. *

2nd Division, in

Asahikawa is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a core city since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiy ...

. *

3rd Division, in Itami. * JGSDF 4th Division

4th Division, in

Kasuga may refer to: Places * Kasuga, Fukuoka, a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan ** Kasuga Station (Fukuoka), on the Kagoshima Main Line * Kasuga, Hyogo, a former town in Hyōgo Prefecture * Kasuga, Gifu, a former village in Gifu Prefecture * Kas ...

. *

6th Division, in

Higashine is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,910 in 17868 households, and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located on the eastern shore of ...

. *

7th Division (7th Armored division), in Chitose. * JGSDF 8th Division

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

, in

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

. *

9th Division, in

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

. *

10th Division, in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Brigade

the JGSDF currently has 8 combat brigades: * JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade

1st Airborne Brigade, at Camp Narashino in

Funabashi is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 644,668 in 309,238 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . It is the Greater Tokyo Area's 7th most populated city (after p ...

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

5th Brigade, at Camp Obihiro in

Obihiro is a city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi area. As of February 29, 2020, the city has an estimated population of 165,851. The next most populous municipality in Tokachi is the adj ...

, responsible for the defense of North Eastern Hokkaidō * JGSDF 11th Brigade

11th Brigade, at Camp Makomanai in Sapporo, responsible for the defense of South Western Hokkaidō * JGSDF 12th Brigade

12th Brigade (

Air Assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

), at Camp Soumagahara in

Shintō Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

, responsible for the defense of

Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, Niigata and Tochigi prefectures. * JGSDF 13th Brigade

13th Brigade, in Kaita, responsible for the defense of the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History '' ...

. *

14th Brigade, in Zentsūji, responsible for the defense of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. *

15th Brigade, in

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

, responsible for the defense of

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

, at Camp Ainoura in Sasebo,

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

; amphibious force equipped to deploy from ships, where needed. JGSDF divisions and brigades are

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...

units with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. They are regionally independent and permanent entities. The divisions strength varies from 6,000 to 9,000 personnel. The brigades are smaller with 3,000 to 4,000 personnel. The JGSDF currently has 9 combat support brigades: * 1st Artillery Brigade, at Camp Kita Chitose in Chitose,

Hokkaido Prefecture is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

* 1st Helicopter Brigade, at Camp Kisarazu in

Kisarazu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is located in the midwest ...

* 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, at Camp Higashi in Chitose,

* 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, at Camp Iizuka in

Iizuka is a city located at the confluence of the Honami and Onga rivers in central Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 20, 1932. History Iizuka was an important post-station on the Nagasaki Kaidō during the Edo Era. As Jap ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

* 1st Engineer Brigade, at Camp Koga in

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* 2nd Engineer Brigade, at Camp Funaoka in Shibata,

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* 3rd Engineer Brigade, at Camp Eniwa in Eniwa,

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* 4th Engineer Brigade, at Camp Okubo in

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, Kyoto Prefecture * 5th Engineer Brigade, at Camp Ogōri in Ogōri,

Other units

*Other Units and Organizations **Material Control Command **Ground Research & Development Command **Signal Brigade **Military Police **

Military Intelligence Command A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

**Ground Staff College **Ground Officer Candidate School ** Special Forces Group

Ranks

Officers（幹部）

Warrant Officer & Enlisted（准尉および曹士）

Culture and traditions

Music and traditions

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force dropped nearly all traditions associated with the former

save for the march music tradition (Review March was the official march of the IJA and today's JGSDF). However the tradition of bugle call playing, a tradition left by the Imperial Army, has remained till the present. Each JGDSF formation has had a bugle platoon or company led by a Bugle Major.

Flag and insignia

The

flag with symmetrical 16 rays and a 2:3 ratio was abolished in 1945. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) use a significantly different variation of the Rising Sun Flag with red, white and gold colors. It has 8-rays and an 8:9 ratio. The edges of the rays are asymmetrical since they form angles at 19, 21, 26 and 24 degrees. It also has indentations for the yellow (golden) irregular triangles along the borders. The JSDF Rising Sun Flag was adopted by a law/order/decree published in the Official Gazette of June 30, 1954.

References

External links

*
Globalsecurity.org JGSDF section
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120820045955/http://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/equipment/air/index.html Number of Major Aircraft and Performance Specificationsbr>Guided Missile Specifications
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