Japan's Ministry of Defense aims to increase the proportion of female soldiers to 13% by 2036, along with improving welfare and working conditions. This effort comes amid difficulties in attracting younger recruits following personnel shortages and pressure from sexual harassment cases.
The Ministry of Defense announced a new strategic plan to raise the proportion of women in the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to 13% by March 2036, up from the current 9%, despite challenges in recruiting younger generations into the military.
This initiative follows a crisis of confidence triggered by the case of Rina Gonoi, a former female soldier who revealed her experience of sexual harassment on YouTube, gaining global attention. This led to government acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a court settlement earlier this year.
To promote women's roles and improve work-life balance, the Ministry of Defense is accelerating improvements to base facilities nationwide, including building female-specific restrooms, showers, living quarters, and allocating private spaces for women on warships.
Currently, Japan faces geopolitical tensions due to China's expanding influence, necessitating increased defense budgets and forces. However, the military still suffers a 10% manpower shortage from a total of 250,000 positions. Contributing factors include low birth rates, a shrinking workforce, high-risk jobs, low pay, relatively early retirement age (around 56), and a deeply rooted male-dominated culture in senior administration.
Although Japan's Self-Defense Forces possess modern defense capabilities, their military role remains limited under the pacifist constitution, which restricts the use of force to resolve conflicts.
According to NATO statistics from 2022, the average proportion of female soldiers was 12%, while the United States reached 18% in 2023. Japan's Ministry of Defense believes increasing female soldiers will bring diverse perspectives to the military, especially in disaster relief missions and operations requiring close coordination with civilians.
Since its establishment in 1950, Japan's Self-Defense Forces have adhered to a peace-oriented constitutional approach, focusing on self-defense with no combat fatalities recorded. However, with changing global circumstances, Japan is adapting by leveraging the potential of "female personnel" as a key element in national defense.
/sourceJAPAN TIMES