Japan sees few recruits as low pay, bullying, sex abuse claims give military 'negative image'
A mere 4,300 new fixed-term personnel joined Japan's Self-Defence Forces (SDF) in the financial year that ended in March, less than half of the military's target - reflecting both the fading appeal of the uniformed services and the nation's deepening population crisis.
The shortage of new conscripts is the worst since 2009. The military had aimed to attract more than 9,200 personnel to join on fixed terms of two or three years, with the option to continue to serve on the ground, air and maritime arms of the SDF, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
Every year since 2009, when comparable statistics were first compiled, the SDF has managed a recruitment rate of more than 80 per cent of its target, the paper said, except for 2018 when a low of 72 per cent was reported.
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Some 247,000 personnel serve in Japan's armed forces, about 90 per cent of the military's optimum figure, despite increased recruitment efforts in recent years.
"The biggest single factor is the gradual decline in the Japanese population and the falling number of eligible recruits between the ages of 18 and their early 20s," said Fumio Ohta, a retired admiral in the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force and a former head of the Defence Intelligence Headquarters.
"But I also have the sense that young people dislike the idea of serving in the military because they are, of course, constrained by regulations and someone is always giving them orders," he told This Week in Asia.
Difficult working conditions compared to civilian jobs was also a drawback, Ohta said.
Pay was another area of concern, as a soldier's starting salary is lower than a Japanese police officer, while the conditions on many bases were poor, he added. Some barracks date back to World War II and had no heating in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer, Ohta said.
Potential recruits may also have been put off by a number of sexual and power harassment cases.
Most recently, Rina Gonoi went public with her experience. The 22-year-old said her dreams of military service were shattered when she made repeated claims of sexual harassment against officers and other enlisted personnel, only for the complaints to be ignored by her superiors and the defence ministry.
Ohta said the case damaged the military's ambitions to attract more young recruits. "Incidents of bullying, intimidation and violence aimed at younger and more junior personnel have given the forces a very negative image and that is something that needs to be dealt with urgently," he said.
The final factor that could not be overlooked was the impact of rising global security tensions - in Ukraine, North Korea and the worsening threat of mainland China's military action against Taiwan, Ohta said.
"Young people are seeing what's going on in the world and that's a concern, but I also think it is two sides of a coin," he said.
Some are afraid of war and being involved in a conflict, Ohta said, while adding that others are encouraged by a national threat and "want to join the SDF and contribute to the nation's security."
Ben Ascione, an assistant professor of international relations at Tokyo's Waseda University, said the Japanese military's structural challenges "will not be easy to change, even over time".
Given those challenges, he said, the Japanese military could introduce changes, although he added that there was no "silver bullet" solution.
One option was to go for a hi-tech but smaller military, building on recent advances such as drones to deliver munitions to a target, and incorporating uncrewed fighter aircraft and maritime craft.
A pay increase would also help. The new defence budget detailed earlier this year set aside additional funds to both attract new recruits and to convince serving personnel to sign on for longer terms of service.
The budget, Ohta pointed out, also included spending on improved base facilities for standard private sector amenities, such as heating and air-conditioning.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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