Japan Weighs New Agency to Support Retired SDF Members

Tokyo, Aug. 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry is considering establishing an agency to support retired Self-Defense Forces members and their families as early as fiscal 2027. The new agency is envisioned as an entity that will provide a wide range of support, including assistance to find new jobs and medical services. By enhancing postretirement support, the ministry aims to address the serious shortage of SDF personnel. It hopes to submit related legislation during the ordinary session of the Diet, the country’s parliament, to be convened next January. This is a pet project of Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, according to ministry sources. In June this year, Koizumi set up a committee chaired by himself to design the agency, turning to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and similar organizations. The ministry hopes to include related expenses in its budget request for fiscal 2027, due by the end of this month, after coordinating with the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs. The new agency is expected to help retiring SDF members find new jobs in cooperation with the private sector, provide medical care, including mental health services, and support education for family members. While some measures have already been taken by the ministry, the new agency would serve as a “one-stop” center to provide all envisioned assistance, increasing the convenience of retired SDF members and their families, according to a ministry official. The ministry sees the urgent need to create the agency as it faces the SDF personnel shortage. In fiscal 2025, the number of newly hired SDF personnel exceeded 10,000 for the first time in three years thanks to improvements in the treatment of SDF members decided by the administration of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. However, the SDF is chronically understaffed, with 217,701 members as of the end of March 2026, far lower than the planned strength of 247,154. Despite the increasingly severe security environment surrounding Japan, the ministry estimates that the number of SDF members will drop to about 130,000 by 2045. The SDF adopts an early retirement system to maintain organizational strength, with most members retiring in their late 50s. “To ensure that SDF membership continues to be chosen as a profession, it is necessary to build an environment in which members can live their lives with pride, confidence and peace of mind,” Koizumi said. In the United States, there is an established culture of supporting active-duty military members and veterans. Koizumi, who lived in the United States, has repeatedly talked about such episodes. Through the establishment of the agency, Koizumi apparently intends to elevate the standing of SDF members in society. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]