Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

{{Short description|Army branch of the Japanese armed forces}} {{For|the army of the Japanese Empire|Imperial Japanese Army}} {{Redirect|GSDF|the state defense force of the U.S. state of Georgia|Georgia State Defense Force}}

{{Use American English|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = Japan Ground Self-Defense Force | native_name = {{native name|ja|陸上自衛隊}} | image = Japan_Ground_Self_Defense_Force_Emblem_JGSDF.png | caption = Emblem of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force | start_date = {{Start date and age|1954|07|01|df=yes}}<ref name="Defendingjapan.wordpress.com" /> | country = {{flag|Japan}} | allegiance = | branch = | type = Army | role = Land warfare | website = {{Official URL}} | size = 150,700 active personnel (2023) <br/> 56,000 reserve personnel (2023)<ref name=IISSp258>{{cite book| url=https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/| title=The Military Balance 2023| author1=International Institute for Strategic Studies| author-link1=International Institute for Strategic Studies| date=15 February 2023| publisher=Routledge| location=London| page= 258| isbn=978-1-000-91070-4}}</ref> | command_structure = {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.svg}} Japan Self-Defense Forces | garrison = Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan | garrison_label = | nickname = | patron = | motto = | colours = Red, White and Gold | colours_label = | march = {{nihongo|"Battōtai"|抜刀隊}} {{audio|1-01 分列行進曲.ogg|Play}} | mascot = | equipment = | equipment_label = | battles = | anniversaries = | decorations = | battle_honours =  | commander1 = {{flagicon image|Standard of the Prime Minister of Japan.svg|size=20px}} Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi | commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief | commander2 = {{flagicon image|Standard of the Minister of Defence of Japan.svg|size=20px}} Shinjirō Koizumi | commander2_label = Minister of Defense | commander3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Chief of Staff, Joint Staff (JSDF).svg|size=20px}} General Hiroaki Uchikura | commander3_label = Chief of Staff, Joint Staff | commander4 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Chief of Staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force (Japan).svg|size=20px}} General Masayoshi Arai | commander4_label = Chief of Staff, Ground Self-Defense Force | notable_commanders =  | identification_symbol_2 = 100px | identification_symbol_2_label = Flag }}

The {{nihongo|'''Japan Ground Self-Defense Force'''|陸上自衛隊|Rikujō Jieitai|lead=yes}}, '''{{Nihongo|JGSDF|陸自|Rikuji}}''', also referred to as the '''Japanese Army''',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://japan-forward.com/how-to-secure-japan-put-premium-on-jsdf-personnel-more-than-hardware/ |title = How to Secure Japan? Put Premium on JSDF Personnel More Than Hardware |publisher=JAPAN Forward |date = 5 March 2019}}</ref> is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches.

New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct the Self-Defense Forces away from their Cold War focus on the Soviet Union to a new focus on China, especially in respect of the dispute over the Senkaku Islands.<ref name="MARTIN FACKLER">{{cite news | last= Fackler | first= Martin | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/world/asia/17japan.html | title= Japan Announces Defense Policy to Counter China | work= The New York Times | date= 16 December 2010 | access-date= 17 December 2010 | archive-date= 4 November 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161104075421/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/world/asia/17japan.html | url-status= live}}</ref>

==History== {{See also|Military history of Japan|Imperial Japanese Army}}

===20th century=== Soon after the end of the Pacific War in 1945 with Japan accepting the Potsdam Declaration, the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy were dismantled by the orders of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/japan-reconstruction |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=history.state.gov}}</ref> Both were replaced by the United States Armed Forces occupation force, which assumed responsibility for the external defense of Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-13 |title=The U.S. Military in Japan: An Overview |url=https://harvardpolitics.com/the-u-s-military-in-japan-an-overview/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Harvard Political Review |language=en-US}}</ref>

Douglas MacArthur insisted that Japan have no military that could be used to settle international disputes or even for its own self defense. Accordingly, during the development of the Japan Constitution in 1946, Article 9 was added stating "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-19 |title=What is Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan? |work=Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability |url=https://nautilus.org/network/partners/gppac-northeast-asia/global-article-9-campaign-1/what-is-article-9-of-the-constitution-of-japan/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>

"In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized." It is believed that the Special Diet Session leader Hitoshi Ashida added the clause "In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph" in the middle of Article 9.<ref>{{Citation |title=War and Peace |date=2015 |work=Making We the People: Democratic Constitutional Founding in Postwar Japan and South Korea |pages=66–127 |editor-last=Hahm |editor-first=Chaihark |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/making-we-the-people/war-and-peace/525A84A8F73435D41A7EF773B8D51B0C |access-date=2025-12-26 |series=Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139088480.003 |isbn=978-1-107-01882-2 |editor2-last=Kim |editor2-first=Sung Ho|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The intent of this phrasing was to allow for the creation of military forces in Japan which would be for the defense of Japan, and not for settling international disputes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boden |first=Leslie I. |date=October 1985 |title=Book Review: Labor Law: OSHA: History, Law, and Policy |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/001979398503900115 |journal=ILR Review |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=138–139 |doi=10.1177/001979398503900115 |issn=0019-7939|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Then Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida accepted this wording and was able to convince the US to allow Japan to operate "self defense" forces.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Japan: Article 9 of the Constitution |url=https://stuff.coffeecode.net/www.loc.gov/law/help/japan-constitution/japan-constitution-article9.pdf |journal=Stuff.coffeecode.net}}</ref>

Under the terms of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, United States forces stationed in Japan were to deal with external aggression against Japan while Japanese forces, both ground and maritime, would deal with internal threats and natural disasters. Only after the outbreak of the Korean War did MacArthur authorise Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida to establish a 75,000 strong National Police Reserve. The next expansion came in 1952, when as a compromise in the face of U.S. calls to build up an army of 350,000, the National Police Reserve was re-titled the National Safety Force and expanded to 110,000.<ref>Frank Kowalski, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QwpMAgAAQBAJ&q=%22National+Safety+Force%22&pg=PA88 An Inoffensive Rearmament: The Making of the Postwar Japanese Army] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113022650/https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=QwpMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=%22National+Police+Reserve%22+75000&source=bl&ots=fvLX3sTKEs&sig=93552xhqho_85GlW8oqdoLiwzMc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3fHiVMmTFNLh8AXE2ICADw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAw#v=snippet&q=%22National%20Safety%20Force%22&f=false |date=2016-01-13 }}, Naval Institute Press, 2014, p.72</ref>

In 1954, Prime Minister Yoshida impelled the Diet to accept the Defence Agency Establishment and the Self-Defence Force Laws, which explicitly authorized the forces to "defend Japan against direct and indirect aggression, and when necessary to maintain public order."<ref>Raymond L. Brown, 'Japan's Army and the Modern Japanese Military System,' RUSI Journal, December 1978, p.34</ref> On July 1, 1954, the National Security Board was reorganized as the Defense Agency, and the National Security Force was reorganized afterwards as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), with General Keizō Hayashi appointed as the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council—professional head of the three branches. The enabling legislation for this was the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act [Act No. 165 of 1954].<ref name="Defendingjapan.wordpress.com">{{cite web |url=http://defendingjapan.wordpress.com/tag/japan-self-defense-force/ |title=Japan Self-Defense Force | Defending Japan |publisher=Defendingjapan.wordpress.com |access-date=2014-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216123929/https://defendingjapan.wordpress.com/tag/japan-self-defense-force/ |archive-date=2015-02-16 |url-status=live }}</ref>

That year the actual strength of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defence Forces reached 146,285, armed mainly with U.S. World War II vintage equipment.<ref>Boei nenkan (Tokyo, 1955), pp.227-247 quoted in Weinstein chapter in James H. Buck (ed.), The Modern Japanese Military System, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills/London, 1975, p.45</ref> At least up until the 1970s, the Ground SDF was not built up to the point required to defeat an invasion attempt from the north – informed officials estimated that while ammunition provisions were officially said to be enough to last for two months, in actuality it would be used up in a week or less.<ref>Weinstein chapter in James H. Buck (ed.), The Modern Japanese Military System, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills/London, 1975, p.47</ref>

During the 1970s, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force possessed a dubious ability to hold off a Soviet invasion of Hokkaido. Zbigniew Brzezinski observed in 1972 that it seemed optimized to fight "a Soviet invasion conducted on American patterns of a quarter of a century ago."<ref>Zbigniew Brzezinski, The Fragile Blossom (Harper, 1972) p.95, in James H. Buck, 'The Japanese Military in the 1980s, in James H. Buck (ed.), The Modern Japanese Military System, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills/London, 1975, p.220</ref> Three years later in 1975, Osamu Kaihara, the former secretary of the National Defence Council, was reported in ''U.S. News & World Report'' that the SDF would have been totally ineffective in any Soviet attack, as the Ground SDF could only fight as an army for three to four days.<ref>U.S. News & World Report, March 24, 1975, p.34, in James H. Buck, 'The Japanese Military in the 1980s,' in James H. Buck (ed.), The Modern Japanese Military System, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills/London, 1975, p.220</ref> While the force is now an efficient army of around 150,000,<ref name="ReferenceA">IISS 2010, pp. 408–411</ref> its apparent importance had, until recently, seemingly declined with the end of the Cold War, and attempts to reorient the forces as a whole to new post Cold War missions have been tangled in a series of internal political disputes.

===21st century=== On March 27, 2004, the Japan Defense Agency activated the Special Operations Group with the mandate under the JGSDF as its Counter-terrorist unit.<ref name="SF">{{cite web |url=http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~sbu/DATABASE-JAPAN.htm |title=日本国の精鋭部隊＆特殊部隊 (Japan's elite and special forces) |access-date=March 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041029224605/http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~sbu/DATABASE-JAPAN.htm |archive-date=October 29, 2004}}</ref>

In 2015, the Japanese Diet passed a law that allowed for the reinterpretation of Article 9 of the constitution. JSDF personnel train with the American forces in amphibious assault units designed to take outlying islands.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/11/economist-explains-13 |title=An article in ''The Economist'' dated Nov 20, 2017 |newspaper=The Economist |date=20 November 2017 |access-date=November 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121143352/https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/11/economist-explains-13 |archive-date=November 21, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Japan activated its first marine unit since World War II on April 7, 2018. The marines of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade are trained to counter invaders from occupying Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea.<ref>Kubo, Nobuhiro [https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN1HE069-OCATP Japan activates first marines since WW2 to bolster defenses against China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802040935/https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN1HE069-OCATP |date=2018-08-02 }}. April 7, 2018. ''Reuters''. Retrieved August 2, 2018</ref>

British troops of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) exercised together for the first time with Japanese GSDF soldiers in Oyama, Shizuoka prefecture on 2 October 2018. The purpose was to improve their strategic partnership and security cooperation. Speaking about tensions regarding North Korea, Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders said that Japan "won't have to fight alone."<ref name="brit-exercise">{{cite news |title=British troops join forces with Japanese for first time on their soil amid North Korea tensions |date=2 October 2018|publisher=The Telegraph |access-date=18 October 2018 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/02/british-troops-join-forces-japanese-first-time-soil-amid-north|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012220912/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/02/british-troops-join-forces-japanese-first-time-soil-amid-north |archive-date=2018-10-12}}</ref>

The JGSDF and the Indian Army conducted their first joint military exercise in the Indian state of Mizoram from 27 October to 18 November 2018. It primarily consisted of anti-terror drills and improving bilateral cooperation with 60 Japanese and Indian officers.<ref>{{cite news |title=India-Japan military exercise begins in Mizoram |date=1 November 2018|publisher=Moneycontrol.com |access-date=6 November 2018 |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/india-japan-military-exercise-begins-in-mizoram-3119031.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102191336/https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/india-japan-military-exercise-begins-in-mizoram-3119031.html |archive-date=2018-11-02}}</ref>

In March 2019, the Ministry of Defense established its first regional cyber protection unit in the Western Army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) to safeguard defense communications from cyber attacks, such as for personnel deployed on remote islands with no established secure lines.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan to create first regional counter-cyberattack unit in GSDF's Western Army |date=20 August 2018|publisher=The Mainichi|access-date=26 August 2018 |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180820/p2a/00m/0na/004000c}}</ref>

The Japanese government approved the first ever JSDF dispatch to a peacekeeping operation that is not led by the United Nations in 2019. JGSDF officers monitored the cease-fire between Israel and Egypt at the Multinational Force and Observers command in the Sinai Peninsula from 19 April until 30 November 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan approves plan to send JSDF officers to Sinai, on first non-U.N. peacekeeping mission|date=2 April 2019|publisher=The Mainichi|access-date=3 April 2019|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190402/p2g/00m/0na/043000c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402131957/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190402/p2g/00m/0na/043000c|archive-date=2 April 2019|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

From September to the end of November 2021, the GSDF conducted nationwide drills with all units including 100,000 personnel, 20,000 vehicles, 120 aircraft and the JMSDF and JASDF as well as a U.S. Army landing ship.<ref name="sdf-exercise-2021"/> These were the largest GSDF exercises since after the Cold War in 1993.<ref name="sdf-exercise-2021"/> The exercises are based on 2019 National Defense Program Guidelines to strengthen defense capabilities.<ref name="sdf-exercise-2021"/> Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi said it is to effectively respond to various situations.<ref name="sdf-exercise-2021">{{cite web |title=Japan's GSDF begins nationwide drills for first time since Cold War |website=The Japan Times |date=October 16, 2021 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/09/15/national/sdf-military-exercises-china-nationwide/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917073906/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/09/15/national/sdf-military-exercises-china-nationwide/ |archive-date=September 17, 2021}}</ref>

== Current deployment == ===Personnel=== thumb|JGSDF soldiers from the 22nd Infantry Regiment train with U.S. Army soldiers in a bilateral exercise at Fort Lewis' Leschi Town in October 2008.

thumb|JGSDF soldiers and U.S. soldiers participate in the Orient Shield 2017 opening ceremony at Camp Shin Yokotsuka, Sept. 11, 2017.

In 1989, basic training for lower-secondary and upper-secondary academy graduates began in the training brigade and lasted approximately three months.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan Ground Self Defence Force |url=https://irp.fas.org/world/japan/jgsdf.htm |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=irp.fas.org}}</ref> Specialized enlisted and non-commissioned officer (NCO) candidate courses were available in branch schools, and qualified NCOs could enter an eight-to-twelve-week officer candidate program.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NCO Candidate Course |url=https://www.ncoworldwide.army.mil/NCO-Corps-History/Shared-Experiences/NCO-Candidate-Course/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251007152107/https://www.ncoworldwide.army.mil/NCO-Corps-History/Shared-Experiences/NCO-Candidate-Course/ |archive-date=2025-10-07 |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=NCO Worldwide |language=en-US}}</ref> Senior NCOs and graduates of an eighty-week NCO pilot course were eligible to enter officer candidate schools, as were graduates of the National Defense Academy at Yokosuka and graduates of all four-year universities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Naval Academy Can Still Consider Race in Admissions |url=https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/naval-academy-can-still-consider-race-in-admissions/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=BestColleges }}</ref> Advanced technical, flight, medical and command and staff officer courses were also run by the JGSDF. Like the maritime and air forces, the JGSDF ran a youth cadet program offering technical training to lower-secondary school graduates below military age in return for a promise of enlistment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Activities: (TERCOM)Japan Ground Self Defense Force Training Evaluation,Education,Research and Development Command |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/tercom/en/en_activities.html |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Ministry of Defense of Japan}}</ref>

Because of population density and urbanization on the Japanese islands, only limited areas are available for large-scale training, and, even in these areas, noise restrictions are extensive. The JGSDF has adapted to these conditions by conducting command post exercises, map manoeuvres, investing in simulators and other training programs, as well as conducting live fire exercises overseas at locations such as the Yakima Training Center in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Yoshikazu Watanabe Masanori Yoshida Masayuki Hironaka |title=THE U.S.–JAPAN ALLIANCE AND ROLES OF THE JAPAN SELF-DEFENSE FORCES PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE}}</ref>

The JGSDF has two reserve components: the {{nihongo|rapid-reaction reserve component|即応予備自衛官制度}} and the {{nihongo|main reserve component|一般予備自衛官制度}}. Members of the rapid-reaction component train 30 days a year. Members of the main reserve train five days a year. As of December 2007, there were 8,425 members of the rapid-reaction reserve component and 22,404 members of the main reserve component.<ref>[https://www.mod.go.jp/j/defense/mod-sdf/kousei/index.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309101507/http://www.mod.go.jp/j/defense/mod-sdf/kousei/index.html|date=March 9, 2010}}</ref>

==Equipment==

{{Main|List of equipment of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force}}

<gallery class="center" widths="170px" heights="100px"> Image:Type10MBT.jpg| Type 10 main battle tank File:Firing Type 90 tank.jpg|Type 90 main battle tank File:JGSDF Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle(26-6348) left front view at Camp Nihonbara October 1, 2017 02.jpg|Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle File:JGSDF_type_87_Self-Propelled_Anti-Aircraft_Gun_02.jpg|Type 87 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun File:JGSDF APC Type 96 at JGSDF Camp Shimoshizu 02.jpg|Type 96 armored personnel carrier File:Running JGSDF Type89 IFV at JGSDF Review of Troops.jpg|Type 89 infantry fighting vehicle File:Japanese - Type 87 Scout - 1.jpg|Type 87 armoured recon and patrol vehicle File:AH-64D_%26_AH-1S.JPG|JGSDF AH-64D & AH-1S File:99式自走155mmりゅう弾砲_(8464256105).jpg|Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer File:Type_12_Surface-to-Ship_Missile.jpg|Type 12 surface-to-ship missile </gallery>

==Organization== {{Update section|reason=2026 Central Readiness Regiment and Special Forces Group (SFGp) merger|date=April 2026}}  {{clear}}

=== Major Commands === * 23px '''{{nihongo|Ground Component Command|陸上総隊|Rikujō Sōtai}}''' is headquartered in Nerima, Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan creates Ground Component Command |url=https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/landwarfareintl/japan-creates-ground-component-command/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Shephard |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-09-28 |title=Japan to reorganize army structure with new large-scale formations |url=https://defence-blog.com/japan-to-reorganize-army-structure-with-new-large-scale-formations/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Defence Blog – Military and Defense News |language=en-US}}</ref> It was reorganized from the Central Readiness Force on March 27, 2018. In wartime, it would take command of two to five district armies.

* '''Central Rapid Deployment Regiment''', headquartered in Utsunomiya, Tochigi. The regiment is a rapid deployment force under the command of the GCC for deployment both in Japan and abroad.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Order of Battle - Japan Ground Self Defence Force |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/jgsdf-orbat.htm |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Global Security}}</ref> * '''Special Operations Group''' (will merge with the Central Rapid Deployment Regiment into a new elite formation in 2026)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-28 |title=Japan to reorganize army structure with new large-scale formations |url=https://defence-blog.com/japan-to-reorganize-army-structure-with-new-large-scale-formations/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Defence Blog – Military and Defense News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/wp/wp2025/pdf/DOJ2025_Digest_EN.pdf</ref> * '''{{nihongo|Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Materiel Command|陸上自衛隊補給本部|Rikujōjieitai Hokyūhonbu}}''' — activated on 23 March 2026,from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Materiel Control Command. This organization will serve as the central hub for logistics within the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Regional depots, previously under the control of the district armies, were placed under its command. Other units under direct control of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force * Signal Systems Brigade * Military Intelligence Command * Electronic Warfare Battalion * Information Operations Battalion * Central NBC-defense Battalion * NBC Countermeasure Medical Unit * International Activities Training Unit

=== District Armies === thumb|Disposition of JGSDF armies Sources:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Order of Battle - Japan Ground Self Defence Force |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/jgsdf-orbat.htm |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Global Security}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-28 |title=Japan to reorganize army structure with new large-scale formations |url=https://defence-blog.com/japan-to-reorganize-army-structure-with-new-large-scale-formations/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Defence Blog – Military and Defense News |language=en-US}}</ref>

* 23px '''Northern Army''', headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaido<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Order of Battle - Japan Ground Self Defence Force |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/jgsdf-orbat.htm |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Global Security}}</ref> * 23px '''North Eastern Army''', headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2025-09-28 |title=Japan to reorganize army structure with new large-scale formations |url=https://defence-blog.com/japan-to-reorganize-army-structure-with-new-large-scale-formations/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Defence Blog – Military and Defense News |language=en-US}}</ref> * 23px '''Eastern Army''', headquartered in Nerima, Tokyo<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan creates Ground Component Command |url=https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/landwarfareintl/japan-creates-ground-component-command/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Shephard |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Fish out of water: a Soldier's week with the JGSDF |url=https://www.poj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/4055556/fish-out-of-water-a-soldiers-week-with-the-jgsdf/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250908123120/https://www.poj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/4055556/fish-out-of-water-a-soldiers-week-with-the-jgsdf/ |archive-date=2025-09-08 |access-date=2025-12-26 |work=Japan U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-09-28 |title=Japan to reorganize army structure with new large-scale formations |url=https://defence-blog.com/japan-to-reorganize-army-structure-with-new-large-scale-formations/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Defence Blog – Military and Defense News |language=en-US}}</ref> * 23px '''Central Army''', headquartered in Itami, Hyōgo<ref name=":2" /> * 23px '''Western Army''', headquartered at Kumamoto, Kumamoto<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2025-09-28 |title=Japan to reorganize army structure with new large-scale formations |url=https://defence-blog.com/japan-to-reorganize-army-structure-with-new-large-scale-formations/ |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=Defence Blog – Military and Defense News |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Division === JGSDF currently has 9 active duty divisions (1 armored, 8 infantry)<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />

* 23px '''1st Division''',at Camp Nerima, in Nerima, Tokyo. * 23px '''2nd Division''',at Camp Asahikawa, in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. * 23px '''3rd Division''', in Itami. * 23px '''4th Division''', in Kasuga. * 23px '''6th Division''', in Higashine. * 23px '''7th Division''' (Armored),at Camp Higashi Chitose, in Chitose. * 23px '''8th Division''', in Kumamoto. * 23px '''9th Division''', in Aomori. * 23px '''10th Division''', in Nagoya.

=== Brigade === The JGSDF currently has eight combat brigades<ref name=":6" />:<ref name=":2" />

* 23px '''1st Airborne Brigade''', at Camp Narashino in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture<ref name=":3" /> * 23px '''5th Brigade''', at Camp Obihiro in Obihiro, responsible for the defense of North Eastern Hokkaidō<ref name=":4" /> * 23px '''11th Brigade''', at Camp Makomanai in Sapporo, responsible for the defense of South Western Hokkaidō<ref name=":5" /> * 23px '''12th Brigade''' (Air Assault), at Camp Soumagahara in Shintō, responsible for the defense of Gunma, Nagano, Niigata and Tochigi prefectures.<ref name=":3" /> * 23px '''13th Brigade''', in Kaita, responsible for the defense of the Chūgoku region.<ref name=":3" /> * 23px '''14th Brigade''', in Zentsūji, responsible for the defense of Shikoku.<ref name=":3" /> * 23px '''15th Brigade''', in Naha, responsible for the defense of Okinawa Prefecture<ref name=":3" /> * 23px '''Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade''', at Camp Ainoura in Sasebo, Nagasaki; amphibious force equipped to deploy from ships, where needed.<ref name=":3" />

JGSDF divisions and brigades are combined arms units with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. They are regionally independent and permanent entities. The divisions' strength varies from 6,000 to 9,000 personnel. The brigades are smaller with 3,000 to 4,000 personnel.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" />

The JGSDF currently has ten combat support brigades<ref name=":4" />:

* '''1st Artillery Brigade''', at Camp Kita Chitose in Chitose, Hokkaido Prefecture * 2nd Artillery Brigade, at Camp Yufuin in Yufu, Ōita Prefecture * '''1st Helicopter Brigade''', at Camp Kisarazu in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture * 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, at Camp Higashi in Chitose, Hokkaido Prefecture * 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, at Camp Iizuka in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture * 1st Engineer Brigade, at Camp Koga in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture * 2nd Engineer Brigade, at Camp Funaoka in Shibata, Miyagi Prefecture * 3rd Engineer Brigade, at Camp Eniwa in Eniwa, Hokkaidō Prefecture<ref name=":2" /> * 4th Engineer Brigade, at Camp Okubo in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture<ref name=":2" /> * 5th Engineer Brigade, at Camp Ogōri in Ogōri, Fukuoka Prefecture<ref name=":2" />

=== Other units === * Other Ground Self-Defense Forces units and organizations ** Military Police (under the Ministry of Defense) ** Ground Officer Candidate School ** Training-Evaluation, Education, Research & Development Command (created in 2018 by integrating the former Ground Research & Development Command and JGSDF Staff College)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/tercom/en/index.html | title=(TERCOM) Japan Ground Self Defense Force Training Evaluation, Education, Research and Development Command | TERCOM }}</ref>

=== Japan Ground Self-Defense Force organization graphic === center|1600px|Japan Ground Self-Defense Force organization as of March 2026 (click image to enlarge)|framelessJapan Ground Self-Defense Force organization as of March 2026 (click image to enlarge)[[File:US Navy 110331-N-8607R-110 Col. Andrew MacMannis discusses humanitarian assistance operations with Lt. Gen. Eiji Kimizuka aboard USS Essex (LHD 2).jpg|thumb|JGSDF Chief of Staff Eiji Kimizuka speaks with a U.S. Marine officer aboard the USS ''Essex'' (LHD-2) in March 2011.]]

==Ranks== {{Main|Ranks and insignia of the Japan Self-Defense Forces}}

===Commissioned officer ranks=== The rank insignia of commissioned officers. [[File:JGSDF Chubu sokanbu.jpg|thumb|JGSDF Central Army headquarters in Itami, Japan]] {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/Blank}} {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OF/Japan}} |}

===Other ranks=== The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel. {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Blank}} {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Japan}} |}

==Culture and traditions== ===Music and traditions=== Although the JGSDF has fewer direct connections to its predecessor than the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), it still inherited many traditions from the former Imperial Japanese Army—largely because many retired Imperial Army officers joined the force shortly after World War II.<ref>赤澤史朗『高度成長の史的検証 (年報・日本現代史) 』 p.39</ref>

For instance, the military march {{Nihongo|"Battotai"|抜刀隊|Drawn-Sword Regiment}} is officially used by both the former Imperial Army and the JGSDF as the “Japanese Army March.” Kaikosha, originally established as a social organization for retired Imperial Army officers, now also welcomes officers from both the JGSDF and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

Several current JGSDF units, such as the 1st, 5th, 27th, 33rd, 34rd, and 37th Infantry Regiments as well as the 11th Tank Unit, describe themselves as successors to Imperial Army units that were once stationed in the same regions.<ref>[https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/mae/10d/butai/butai/33i/history2/index.htm 第33普通科連隊沿革] 第33普通科連隊HP</ref><ref>[https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/mae/3d/shinodayama/37.html 信太山駐屯地第37普通科連隊] 信太山駐屯地</ref><ref>[https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/nae/11d/garrison_hp/11tk/11tk.html 第11戦車隊] 防衛省</ref> These units not only inherit the names of their predecessors but also retain their emblems. Likewise, the 1st Airborne Brigade claims to be the successor to the former 1st Raiding Brigade, and it has inherited the military song {{Nihongo|"Sora no Shinpei"|空の神兵|Divine Soldiers of the Sky}} as part of its tradition.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150110015806/https://www.mod.go.jp/pco/chiba/leaflet/narasino.pdf 精鋭無比第1空挺団] - 陸上自衛隊習志野駐屯地広報班（Archive）</ref>

In addition, the JGSDF Officer Candidate School in Kurume claims historical and cultural continuity with the First Imperial Japanese Army Reserve Officers’ Cadet School, which was located on the same site until 1945.<ref>[https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/ocsh/gakkoushoukai2.html 幹部候補生学校の紹介] 陸上自衛隊幹部候補生学校</ref>

===Flag and insignia=== The Imperial Japanese Army flag with symmetrical 16 rays and a 2:3 ratio was abolished in 1945. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) use a significantly different variation of the Rising Sun Flag with red, white and gold colors.<ref name="law.e-gov">{{cite web |url=http://law.e-gov.go.jp/htmldata/S29/S29SE179.html |title=自衛隊法施行令 |trans-title= Self-Defense Forces Law Enforcement Order |publisher=Government of Japan |language=ja|date=June 3, 1954|access-date=January 25, 2008|ref={{harvid|自衛隊法施行令}}}}</ref> It has 8-rays and an 8:9 ratio.<ref name = FS/> The edges of the rays are asymmetrical since they form angles at 19, 21, 26 and 24 degrees.<ref name = FS/> It also has indentations for the yellow (golden) irregular triangles along the borders.<ref name = FS/> The JSDF Rising Sun Flag was adopted by a law/order/decree published in the Official Gazette of June 30, 1954.<ref name = FS>{{cite web |url = http://flagspot.net/flags/jp%5E.html | title = Japanese military flags | work = Flags of the World | publisher = Flagspot | author = Phil Nelson |author2=various }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Official website}} *[https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/equipment/ve/index.html Number of Tanks and Major Artillery and Performance Specifications] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120820045955/http://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/equipment/air/index.html Number of Major Aircraft and Performance Specifications] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080219192915/http://www.mod.go.jp/e/data/data04.html Guided Missile Specifications]

Category:Japan Ground Self-Defense Force