Waffling On the JSDF is Losing the War Before It Starts

Japan is more serious about defense than it was a decade ago. It plans to double defense spending and buy expensive hardware and weapons systems. But this won't matter if Japan can't recruit enough people to serve in Self-Defense Force. In the most recent fiscal year, the JSDF missed its recruiting goals by 50%. This is a disaster, even by "normal" recruiting shortfalls that have persisted for many years.

A friend asked what this all means and why it happens.

Manning the Japan Self-Defense Force

What are the consequences of the JSDF being undermanned? 

The Jieikan (members of the JSDF) tend to be overworked because they don't have enough people in the services. I've heard this complaint more than once. That is terrible for morale. It can also make training ー and especially realistic training ー difficult to accomplish. Even carrying out necessary missions is difficult since there are not enough personnel. And suppose you're fighting a war and people get killed or injured. You need replacements. If you have too few people to start with, well, good luck replacing casualties.

Also, because JSDF misses recruitment targets – 50% this year, 35% the years before, and by 20% for many years - it is an "older" force. The average age is actually quite high.  War and military operations in general are a young person's business. An "old" force is going to have trouble.

How does the recruiting shortfall affect the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF), Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), and Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF)? Could you give us some examples?

Remember when MSDF was talking about building two ships specifically as AEGIS platforms a year or two ago? They had so few MSDF sailors that they were talking about forcing a few hundred GSDF personnel to join the MSDF to man the ships.

And a decade ago, recall when MSDF was ordered to add several submarines to the fleet. There were serious concerns about MSDF's ability to find enough crew to man the extra submarines.  

MSDF is probably half the size it needs to be to conduct the required missions to defend Japan. It obviously can't expand in size unless it has enough sailors.

When GSDF sends units overseas, say to California and Australia to train, it tends to send small detachments. Maybe a company-sized unit, and sometimes a little larger. It ought to send bigger units to give more troops experience and also to train officers in command and control and operation of larger units. But it doesn't have enough people. Therefore, it tends to send units that are too small to these exercises.

Notice that the MSDF has two "big" amphibious ships. You really need to have at least three. While one is at sea, the other is getting ready to go to sea, and the third is in port being repaired and maintained. If you've only got two ships - and don't have enough sailors to man a third ship, you can see the problem. If you're at sea when you should be in port or resting, you're stressing both the ship and sailors.

Impact on the Defense of Japan

Would the lack of personnel impact the government's plans to bolster Japan's defenses?

Yes. As I mentioned, if Japan needs a bigger navy, for example, how is it going to man the ships?

If GSDF is going to have extra missile batteries and air defense systems, it needs the personnel to man them. So Japan can easily buy or build hardware. But it needs more (and enough) people to operate the systems.

And the ASDF? It needs to be doubled in size to handle all its required missions.

And I'll say it again for all services, what happens if you take casualties in combat? Replace them with what?

Respect and Reward

Why has it become so difficult for Japan to recruit new personnel?

Terms of service ー pay, housing, and benefits ー for individual Jieikan and families ー are not very good. Also, consider that Japan's government and its elite class ーpoliticians, officialdom, academia, most of the media, etc ー have given the JSDF zero respect throughout its entire existence. Service in the JSDF is not a respected profession in much of Japan. 

The people who do join the services are real patriots. They aren't doing it for money. My experience of many years working closely with Jieikan is that their quality is excellent.  They are the equal of United States service people. But they are in a terrible system that treats them poorly. 

Jiekan are considered government employees ー sort of like the person at the ward office who issues bicycle licenses.  This is ridiculous. JSDF personnel are ready to die for the nation. They deserve better treatment and some extra respect. Do that and you might have more people joining.

Look at the US system: Pay is very good, and housing is good too. There is good health care for service people and their families. Moreover, there is a "GI bill" that provides lifelong benefits ー housing loans, education, etc. Also, the pension for 20 years or more of service is quite good. 

In JSDF none of these benefits exist. Additionally, pensions are stingy and much too small.

Also, when JSDF personnel are transferred they have to make all the arrangements and pack themselves. Plus, there are often huge out-of-pocket expenses. This is insane.

What is the government and Ministry of Defense doing about this? 

Nothing much as far as I can tell. I gather the increased defense spending is not going to allocate much more if anything to personnel. They are going to blow it all on hardware. This is the wrong approach. 

If you don't take care of your personnel you won't have enough of them to operate your hardware, and they will have some morale problems. It is very unhealthy for any military.  

The US military in the 1970s was in terrible shape, and then President Reagan came along and gave the military some respect by praising it often and loudly. He also paid to increase salaries, improve housing, and more. That was indispensable to improving the US military. Japan should study the American experience.

Overcoming the Age Issue

What about increasing the retirement age? 

I suppose the Ministry of Defense has done this, but it does little good. You need more younger people joining the JSDF. That's the main problem. JSDF doesn't need more oyajis [old men].

Can you summarize the most important efforts the Ministry of Defense is making to attract more recruits? Is it working?

I honestly can't say the Ministry of Defense is doing anything that matters to attract more recruits. Every year I read the MOD white papers hoping they'll prioritize JSDF personnel for improved terms of service and also just basic respect. They never do.

Is that the Ministry of Defense's fault? Partly. Many civilian staff in the ministry's internal bureau don't seem to like the uniformed service members very much. Instead, they seem to see their role as 'keeping the JSDF on a leash.' It's very strange.

Outside the Ministry of Defense, the civilians running the show in Japan deserve immense blame for not valuing the JSDF and thus leaving the nation vulnerable. The Government of Japan spends so much money on useless things that they can certainly afford to spend to make Jieikan lives better ー and make service more attractive.

I would note that the US needs a much more capable JSDF to operate alongside it. So Japan's failure to address recruiting shortfalls harms JSDF quality and capability. That makes the JSDF (and Japan) a much less useful ally and partner to the US forces than it needs to be.

In other words, the only people happy about this state of affairs are in Beijing.

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Author: Grant Newsham
Grant Newsham is a retired US Marine officer and former US diplomat. He is the author of the book "When China Attacks: A Warning To America."