By NOBUHIKO TAJIMA/ Staff Writer
July 13, 2023 at 17:07 JST
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Targeting a longstanding battle with recruitment shortage, a panel of experts called on the Defense Ministry to improve employment conditions and the working environment for Self-Defense Forces personnel.
It recommended stamping out sexual abuse and power harassment while increasing wages and allowances.
The goals should be realized one at a time, the ministry said.
The panel advising the ministry on measures to secure personnel for the SDF compiled a report on July 12.
“Securing personnel and equipment maintenance are the two wheels of the car that support the drastic enhancement of defense capabilities,” the panel said in the report.
The SDF has long faced a personnel shortage, with the current staffing ratio sitting at about 93 percent of the intended quota of around 247,000.
Since the fallen birthrate is expected to make recruitment more difficult, the ministry set up the panel, comprising university professors and businesspeople, in February.
In the report, the panel urged considering a new salary and allowance system during emergencies, such as the SDF is ordered to be dispatched when Japan comes under attack.
The report proposed a new system of hiring with fixed term and high salaries to attract highly skilled professionals in the increasingly important fields of cyber and space security.
For regular SDF personnel, the report said, “It is essential for there to be discussions about a wage system that matches their duties.”
The panel also called for improving the work environment by reviewing service rules that are out of touch with social norms.
For example, the current rule requiring young SDF members to live on base or in a camp may be a significant burden for the younger generation accustomed to having their own rooms. The panel called for modernizing such requirements.
Regarding regulations on personal grooming such as hairstyles and hair colors, the panel said that any rules lacking in rationality should be changed or abolished within the range that it would not undermine the public’s trust.
It also said that crew members on war vessels, who are on duty for long periods, should be able to take compensatory days off and paid leave.
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