Japan's defence minister rejects foreign recruitment as military faces troop shortage

Japan's defence minister has rejected a proposal to recruit foreign nationals into the country's Self-Defense Forces, despite projections that troop numbers could plunge to 130,000 by 2045.

Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi ruled out enlisting non-nationals in uniform, even as the military grapples with a deepening personnel crisis. The proposal had been put forward in a report by a panel of senior former defence bureaucrats and military chiefs, released by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation on September 2.

Government pivots to retention and technology

Koizumi acknowledged that "securing human resources is a major challenge in the context of the declining birth rate and ageing population". Instead of opening recruitment to foreigners, the government is drawing up plans to improve conditions and facilities for serving members and their families, offer more support after they have left the armed services, and expand the use of technology such as artificial intelligence.

Cultural resistance blocks foreign recruitment

While other countries permit non-nationals to serve in their armed forces, Britain, for example, recruits Commonwealth citizens, Japan has shown far greater reluctance to follow suit. The stance coincides with hardening public opposition to immigration more broadly.

Employers across Japan are struggling to find workers, and analysts say the military holds little appeal for many young people.

"There are just too many reasons, from the military, the government and the public, why this suggestion is not going to work," a government adviser on national security told This Week in Asia. "All arms of the SDF are understaffed at the moment and they are having problems retaining trained people. But this [proposal] has alarmed people".

The rejection underscores the constraints facing Japan as it seeks to bolster defence capabilities amid regional security tensions, while demographic decline shrinks the pool of potential recruits.

Source: South China Morning Post