Photo/Illutration Self-Defense Forces members take part in a disaster relief exercise in Kumamoto Prefecture. (Kikuma Morikita)

Better pay and living conditions are among initiatives being pitched to address a shortage of Self-Defense Forces members.

A Dec. 20 meeting with Cabinet-level input agreed on a basic policy direction under which other industries would be courted to hire SDF personnel who retire at comparatively younger ages than those employed by private companies.

Some enter the SDF for a limited term of employment, meaning they often retire while still in their 20s or 30s. Even those who sign on for the longer haul face retirement when they reach 56 because of the need for SDF members to be in prime physical and mental shape to perform the tasks required of them.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who previously served as defense minister, had made it a point to implement measures to improve the lot of SDF members.

Under the new policy initiative, retiring SDF members will be given help to find new jobs to alleviate financial concerns they may have about their futures.

In addition to positions in the public sector, such as the police or fire departments, the proposal called for greater efforts to lobby private-sector industries, such as real estate, elderly care, security and construction, to hire retiring SDF members.

SDF officers have a later retirement age and the proposal called for raising that by about two years from fiscal 2028.

In addition to raising the pay of SDF members from the same year, the proposal also called for providing members living on base with single-occupancy accommodations as well as improving the living quarters of Maritime SDF members at sea.

The proposal also sought to ensure by fiscal 2027 that MSDF crew members on key vessels have internet access while at sea.

The authorized strength of the SDF is about 247,000, but it is perennially short of around 20,000 members. In fiscal 2023, the SDF registered a record low 50.8 percent of the targeted recruitment level for new members.

To deal with the manpower shortage, the committee of relevant Cabinet ministers was established in October to deal with the issue.

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