The Self-Defence Forces faces accusations of financial improprieties, mishandling state secrets and workplace harassment.
Top navy officer, Admiral Ryo Sakai, was sacked as the military scandals had mainly centred on the Maritime Self-Defence Force.
The Defence Ministry said on July 12 that it had punished 218 SDF members and senior bureaucrats, with 11 dismissals, two demotions and 83 suspensions. The rest either received pay cuts, formal reprimands or warnings. The scandals threaten to tarnish the SDF’s image even as it struggles to meet recruitment quotas. The Defence Ministry said on July 8 that the SDF hired just 9,959 people in 2023 – or a record low 51 per cent of the targeted 19,598 personnel.to a recruitment problem that will only become more acute amid Japan’s warnings of regional conflict. Japan has no military conscription and only a small reserve force.
Regional tensions have prompted Japan to seek “multilateral and multilayered defence cooperation”, the White Paper said. Dr Satoru Nagao, a non-resident fellow at the Hudson Institute think-tank, also urged for dramatic increments to military wages that are currently pegged to the public service, which is also facing recruitment challenges.
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