Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF)

Total Armed Forces:

Active - 236,700

Reserve - 49,200

Defence Budget:

1999 - $43.2 billion

2000 - $45.6 billion

Army: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF)

Active - 148,500

12 Combat Divisions

1070 Tanks

some 90 attack helicopters

supporting Artillery/Air Defense Guns and Missiles

Navy: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)

Active - 42,600

16 SSK submarines

55 Principal Surface Combatants

3 patrol and coastal combatants

31 mine countermeasures

9 amphibious warfare ships

12,000-strong Air Arm with 80 combat aircraft and some 80 armed helicopters

Air Force: Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF)

Active - 44,200

331 total combat aircraft including
2 fighter/ground attack squadrons with 40 F-I and 20 F-4EJ
10 fighter squadrons with 160 F-15J/DJ and 50 F-4EJ

supporting air-defense guns and missiles

Paramilitary Forces

12,000 Maritime Safety Agency ( Coast Guard)

Assessment:

Japan's Self Defense Forces (JSDF) are primarily responsible for external defense and less concerned with internal issues such as domestic insurgencies or ethnic conflicts. Capable of defending home islands against all existing and foreseeable military threats. Capable of limited protection of sea lanes out to 1,000 miles against existing and foreseeable naval threats. JSDF generally maintain a low profile, but with the world's second largest defense budget, they have built an impressive arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. These include more than 1,000 main battle tanks, 16 Harpoon equipped SSK submarines, a substantial surface fleet including new improved destroyers,80 P-3C anti-submarine maritime reconnaissance aircraft and some 330 combat aircraft including F-15s and F-4s. Japan also has a sizeable defense industry with sophisticated capabilities in areas such as radar and air-to-air missiles.

Trends:

Tokyo is seeking a more active role in regional and global security. This will be done through closer co-operation with the U.S. as stated in the new U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines of 1999 as well as greater involvement in UN peacekeeping efforts. Prompted by concerns about growing Chinese naval presence in Japan's territorial waters(a July 2000 report cites a sharp increase from two sightings of Chinese vessels in 1998 to 28 in 1999) and the 1999 North Korean incursion into South Korean waters, Tokyo's new defense plans show a shift in emphasis from equipment procurement towards spending more on training, personnel and maintenance costs, expansion of intelligence capabilities and contingency measures. There are also plans to improve maritime surveillance by setting up a patrol-helicopter unit, the first naval special operations unit or Special Guard Force and expansion of the substantial surface fleet with additional destroyers as well as the development of an amphibious capability.

To enhance interoperability with U.S. forces as stipulated by the new Defense Guidelines, the JSDF will build a 13,000 ton replenishment ship to support U.S. naval operations in addition to acquiring mid-air refueling tanker planes, more airborne warning and control aircraft and upgrading of existing Aegis destroyers. Japan has also allocated $17 million for research on the joint theatre missile defense (TMD) program with the U.S. The Defense Guidelines call for comprehensive bilateral defense planning cooperation in areas such as humanitarian relief activities, search and rescue, noncombatant evacuation operations, enforcement of UN-sponsored economic sanctions and logistic support for U.S. forces in international waters away from actual combat operations. There are no indications of efforts to develop any Japanese force projection capability with air or naval forces.