Recruiting Foreigners into the Self-Defense Forces? Japan May Be Reviving 'Puppet Army' Units?
After the return of "Major General," the "puppet army" might be coming back too.
On the 2nd, Kyodo News reported that Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba received a proposal recently suggesting the recruitment of foreign citizens into the Self-Defense Forces to address personnel shortages.
The report was drafted by former Defense Ministry Vice Minister Tetsuro Kuroe and former Joint Staff Chief Yoshiji Yamazaki, proposing that Japan consider recruiting citizens from so-called "friendly countries" such as the United States, and offering special scholarships to foreign students in exchange for their commitment to join the Japanese Self-Defense Forces after completing their studies.
After meeting with Shigeru Ishiba, Yamazaki stated he hoped this proposal would be incorporated into the upcoming revision of Japan's three security documents, which the High Government plans to finalize by the end of this year.
In short, following the High Government’s intent to revive old Imperial Japanese military ranks, the idea of integrating foreigners into the Self-Defense Forces is now also being put on the agenda.
To be fair, this is actually a rather peculiar phenomenon within Japan’s current fervent right-wing atmosphere: while Japanese right-wing activists frequently shout online—on social media and other public platforms—"We will never lose the next war" and continue visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, the Self-Defense Forces still suffer from chronic manpower shortages. Currently, the official strength of the Self-Defense Forces stands at 247,000 personnel, but actual staffing reaches only 88.1% of the authorized number.
In other words, these internet-based right-wingers may appear bold and aggressive online, but when asked whether they’d actually join the Self-Defense Forces or go to war, they all say no—this is the absurdity of today’s Japanese right wing: bold in spirit, but cowardly in action.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875307491413127/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.