The Joint Staff Office (Japanese: 統合幕僚監部, ''Tōgō bakuryō-kanbu'': abbreviation: JSO), also known as the Joint Staff, is one of the administrative agencies within the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

. It is a special organisation under the Japanese

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

responsible for integrating the military operations of the

Ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...

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 The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

Self-Defense Forces. The abbreviation of the agency in Japanese is ''Tōbaku'' (統幕). The JSO is considered to be the equivalent of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

of foreign armed forces, including that of the United States. Its predecessor was the Joint Chiefs Council (JSC). The office is located in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. The current

Chief of Staff, Joint Staff The is the highest-ranking military officer and head of the Operational Authority (command) over the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff assists the Minister of Defense on all matters of the JSDF, and executes orde ...

is General Yoshihide Yoshida, who replaced General Koji Yamazaki after being appointed on 22 March 2023.

Organisation

The JSO is divided into four departments as can be seen below. Each department has an associated code beginning with the letter J and a corresponding single-digit number. The Joint Staff also consists of four special staff (Joint Staff Councillor/Director General, Public Affairs Director General, Logistics and Legal Affairs General). The current

is General Yoshihide Yoshida, who was appointed into the position on 22 March 2023. JSO internal structure: * General Affairs Department (J-1) * Operations Department (J-3) * Defense Plans and Policy Department (J-5) * C4 Systems Department (J-6)

Activities

The JSO is responsible for coordinating the activities of the ground, maritime and air service branches 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 ...

. Duties of the Joint Staff also include as follows. * Defense and security planning to smoothly execute the mission of the Joint Operation * Development of an action plan * Education and training, organisation, equipment procurement, deployment, accounting, acquisition, logistics, health and hygiene, human resource planning * Development of a training plan * Research and development for the efficient operation of the services needed * Management and coordination of the forces to execute services in charge

Affiliated organisations

Founded in 1961, the

Joint Staff College The (abbreviated JSC) is an educational institution administered by the Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an ...

is an affiliated school of the JSO and the Ministry of Defense.{{Cite web , title=History {{! Joint Staff College , url=https://www.mod.go.jp/js/jsc/english/school/history.html , access-date=2022-07-31 , website=www.mod.go.jp

References

External links

Joint Staff Office

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

Japan Self-Defense Forces