The Self-Defense Forces are suffering from a chronic manpower shortage and struggling to recruit new members as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida forges ahead with plans to fundamentally enhance the nation’s defense capabilities.

A major problem is the falling birthrate, which has sharply reduced the number of residents eligible for recruitment.

Some experts have taken issue with the SDF’s recruiting tactics, asserting that the Defense Ministry pries into the lives of eligible individuals to obtain personal information without their consent.

When the GSDF hosted an online internship session in August last year, a recruiter displayed a tablet screen to explain to college students that the organization is not involved only in disaster relief operations and training duties, but also international contributions aimed at ensuring the safety and security of Japan.

“We want you to know how diverse our work is,” the recruiter said.

When students asked about job descriptions, another member stated: “You can contribute to your country and society. You can see the difference when you compare us with other local public officials.”

The SDF has embarked on a major recruitment drive due to a severe shortfall in personnel, according to a source close to the Defense Ministry.

The full quota of the SDF for this fiscal year is 247,154. The figure is determined under a law that gave legitimacy to the establishment of the Defense Ministry and which specifies the number of members required to deal with contingencies.

The current personnel figure stands at 233,341, or about 14,000 short of the target.

The number of Japanese aged between 18 and 26 who are eligible to join the SDF fell from about 17.43 million in fiscal 1994 to 11.05 million in fiscal 2018, a nearly 40-percent decrease brought on by the declining birthrate and aging population.

The ministry raised the age limit of SDF recruits to 32 that fiscal year to increase the number of eligible residents to about 18.81 million.

Although about 18.25 million people meet the age requirement this fiscal year, the figure will likely drop to around 13.73 million 26 years from now and to approximately 11.93 million in 46 years.

With the recruitment pool shrinking, the number of applicants decreased from 114,488 in fiscal 2012 to 84,825 in fiscal 2021.

One ministry official noted a widespread view that being in the SDF is a demanding job. Another cited the growing number of people who prefer working in their local areas.

“Parents have noticeably shied away from encouraging their offspring join the SDF after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” one SDF member said.

Between fiscal 2019 and 2023, the ministry raised the mandatory retirement age of colonels, captains and lesser-ranking personnel by one year for each rank.

The ministry also raised the maximum number of retired SDF personnel eligible for reappointment from 30 in fiscal 2001 to 1,200 in fiscal 2022 to secure the required number of members.

However, it was merely seen as a stopgap measure, according to a senior SDF official.

The ministry plans to seek an increase in its budget to bolster personnel strength.

It did not reveal the actual number of SDF personnel in its budget request for fiscal 2023 in anticipation of revisions being made later this year to three key national security policy documents, which could radically change Japan’s highly restrictive and exclusively defensive postwar security policy.

But it made of point of promoting harassment-prevention measures and referring to an improved working environment for female SDF members with the aim of expanding the recruitment and appointment of female staff.

This stemmed from Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada’s instruction to the ministry to mount a special investigation after a former SDF member claimed she was sexually assaulted during training.

“We took a tough stance to prevent negative effects from affecting discussions on enhancing defense capabilities,” said a senior ministry official.

INVASION OF PRIVACY ISSUE

Still, some critics contend that the Defense Ministry obtains personal information on eligible residents from local governments without their consent.

Records show that 962 of 1,741 municipalities nationwide in fiscal 2021 provided the names, addresses, gender and birthdates of eligible residents to the ministry following requests based on the Self-Defense Forces Law and related enforcement ordinances.

The ministry apparently provides pamphlets and guidelines for explanatory meetings to 18- and 22-year-olds who measure up to recruitment standards.

The number of municipalities complying with the ministry’s demand is continuing to grow each year, which a ministry official said was helping the SDF to gain greater understanding from the public.

However, the Hyogo Bar Association raised questions about the method, saying it jarred with Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees individuals the right to privacy. It also cited legislation in place to protect personal information.

In June, the association sent a set of recommendations to municipalities in the prefecture, calling on local officials to exclude data on residents unwilling to provide their personal information.

The organization also said that local governments submit personal information on citizens in digital form without their consent, which it called problematic from the standpoint of privacy protection. The issue is made more complicated by the fact there is no system to exclude the release of personal information at the request of residents.

“As long as SDF members are recruited on an open-entry basis, viewing of personal information must be restricted,” said Hiroshi Kito, professor emeritus at Sophia University in Tokyo who is also a historical demographer. “It is a tricky method, and it ought to be stopped, if possible.”