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      Ground Self-Defense Force members train with 155-mm howitzers at the Higashi-Fuji Training Area in Shizuoka Prefecture on Oct. 9, 2024. (Daisuke Yajima)

      SAPPORO—A senior officer of the Ground Self-Defense Force has sued the central government, saying he suffered hearing loss through years of weapons training coupled with inadequate equipment and a lack of medical examinations.

      The Sapporo District Court on Jan. 14 heard the first arguments in the lawsuit, filed by Shuntaro Nakamura, 50, who is seeking about 92 million yen ($583,400) in compensation from the government.

      “First of all, I want people to know about this problem,” Nakamura, a first lieutenant in the GSDF Northern Army Headquarters, has said.

      He joined the GSDF in 1993 and has been engaged in duties involving intense noise, such as firing weapons and operating armored vehicles.

      Around 1997, he noticed abnormalities in his hearing.

      His condition worsened in 2021, when he supervised shooting drills. His hearing loss in both ears was later recognized as an official injury.

      Nakamura said the earplugs provided to members were of poor quality, particularly for drills using the 84-mm recoilless rifle.

      He said he was exposed to noises and shocks “louder than anything I had ever heard in my daily life.”

      After training sessions, he said, he continued to experience “a blocked feeling in my ears, like when water gets into the ears at a swimming pool,” and a ringing or buzzing sound from tinnitus.

      Members of the GSDF unit strictly follow orders during training, so they tend to be hesitant to reinsert the earplugs if they fall out, Nakamura said.

      The danger of such noise on ones hearing was not fully shared within the unit, he said.

      The lawsuit says the government failed to introduce appropriate precautions and measures for the members, thus neglecting its duty to take care of their safety. It also failed to conduct necessary hearing tests on GSDF members, it said.

      According to the lawsuit, the government should have provided sufficient earplugs with a high sound insulation performance and raised awareness of the importance of wearing earplugs.

      Nakamura said he knows many other members whose hearing has deteriorated.

      “I couldn’t help but raise my voice for the sake of the young members,” he said.

      RINGING CONTINUES

      In October 2024, the GSDF allowed the media to observe a training drill held at the foot of Mount Fuji.

      After an order to fire was issued, a 155-mm howitzer rang out with a powerful “boom.”

      An Asahi reporter was wearing earplugs, but the sound felt like a direct hit to the eardrums. The reporter’s ears were still ringing the next day.

      A senior SDF official acknowledged, “From cannons to rifles, the sound can be small or large, but many of our members have suffered from hearing problems due to years of training.”

      The GSDF has said that members are instructed to protect their ears with earplugs or other hearing devices during target practice.

      However, according to an SDF official, some members have trained without earplugs so that they can better hear the instructions. In other cases, the earplugs came out in the middle of strenuous activity.

      Another senior SDF official said training for an actual battle scenario is fraught with the risk of death. Therefore, it is difficult to “pay attention to whether or not each member of the team is protecting his or her ears.”

      BODY PROTECTION

      The capacity for SDF personnel is 247,000, but a shortage of about 20,000 members has continued.

      In fiscal 2023, the number of recruits was 50.8 percent of the planned level, the lowest rate ever.

      At the request of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a Cabinet meeting in late 2024 issued a basic policy of improving conditions for SDF members.

      However, the main content of the policy was to support their re-employment and improve their living environment.

      “Compared to the U.S. military, (the SDF) has less awareness of the importance of taking care of individual members’ bodies, and the quality of the equipment provided has been poor due to a lack of funds,” Noboru Yamaguchi, a former SDF general and visiting professor at the International University of Japan, said.

      Yamaguchi also addressed the issue in light of Japan’s drastic increase in defense spending.

      “We tend to focus on fighter jets and missiles, but we should change that mindset and also enhance the equipment that protects the body with meticulous attention,” he said. “An organization that cannot take care of individuals cannot sustain itself, and morale in the field, where people put their bodies on the line, will not improve.”

      A GSDF representative said the force currently has no plans to introduce ear-protection equipment that is better than conventional products.

      As for the lawsuit, the representative said, “We are unable to answer questions regarding pending litigation, as it may affect future trials.”

      (This article was written by Kohei Uwabo and Daisuke Yajima.)