Japan's Self-Defense Forces end annual ceremony amid mounting duties
The ministry said in a press release late last month that it has become "difficult to continue" the ceremony, as it needs to "maintain our nation's watertight defense posture in the face of the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II."
The SDF's ground, maritime and air services had been taking turns hosting the event every fall, and this year the Maritime Self-Defense Force was to hold a naval review in Sagami Bay, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told a press conference earlier this month that the event had helped boost the SDF's morale and deepen public understanding of their activities, but he admitted that conducting a ceremony every year has placed a heavy burden on the forces.
Citing China and Russia's intensifying military activities in areas surrounding Japan and North Korea's nuclear and missile development, Nakatani said there must not be the "slightest gap" in the SDF's response.
According to Nakatani, a review ceremony requires preparations by about 5,000 SDF members for around one month and defense equipment for some two months, which would force them to cut their training time and could "affect a wide variety of duties including monitoring and surveillance."
Given the strains on the troops, the SDF had already scaled down the size of the ceremony in recent years, holding it without an audience since 2020 when COVID-19 began spreading in Japan.
The SDF have also been struggling with a chronic shortage of members amid the country's low birthrate and population decline.
The prime minister, as commander-in-chief of the SDF, had addressed defense personnel at the event every year.
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