Japan aims to significantly increase the number of women in its military by the mid-2030s, the Defense Ministry said, as it struggles to persuade young people to join.
Japan wants to attract more women to its military. According to a new target set this year, the country aims to raise the proportion of female soldiers to 13% of the personnel in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) by March 2036, up from the current 9%, the ministry said.
The Defense Ministry has committed to improving conditions for female personnel following a highly publicized sexual assault scandal, in which a former soldier shared her story on YouTube after an internal investigation was dropped.
The ministry plans “to promote active engagement of female personnel,” it said in a statement to AFP, emphasizing the need for a “balance between professional and private life.”
“As opportunities for women within the SDF continue to expand, the ministry is ‘Improving facilities… including the provision of toilets, baths, and dedicated spaces for women in each garrison and base, as well as female quarters on board ships,'” it added.
Tokyo has increased its military spending and is trying to attract more recruits to its armed forces amid growing concerns over China’s territorial ambitions in the region.
However, dangerous missions, low salaries, and an early retirement age, around 56, are deterring young Japanese, officials and experts said.
Recruitment is also complicated by Japan’s low birth rate and demographic decline. About 10% of the 250,000 positions in the armed forces are vacant.
Among NATO member countries and their partners, the proportion of women is higher on average, with women accounting for over 12% of military personnel in 2022, according to a report from the European Parliament Research Service. This figure was slightly over 10% in 2014.
In the United States, women made up around 18% of recruits in 2023, the Defense Ministry said.
Increasing the number of women in the SDF “will help bring greater diversity of perspectives to our missions, including disaster relief operations and other activities involving direct interaction with the public,” the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
Former soldier Rina Gonoi, who was sexually assaulted while in the military, reached an agreement with the government and a former colleague in January, after a years-long legal battle.
