- Japan’s military had the worst recruitment drive this year.
- This is the worst time to be understaffed, considering China’s military is growing day by day.
- In order to overcome this issue, it has decided to invest more in AI and automation so that some operations can work with a smaller crew.
- To improve recruitment numbers, it has decided to increase financial incentives and provide better living conditions.
On Friday, Japan’s defense ministry said that it will be investing in AI and automation and working on improving troop conditions in order to combat the falling signup numbers that have left its forces understaffed.
This will require a 6.9% spending increase, setting the new budget at a record 8.5 trillion yen ($59 billion).
‘As we increase our defensive strength, we need to build an organization that is able to fight in new ways’ – Japan Defense Ministry
The announcement was made in the latest defense budget request on Friday which came shortly after the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) concluded its worst-ever recruitment drive. Up until March 31, 2024, it only managed to fill half the seats, which is 10000 sailors, soldiers, and air personnel.
A huge reason behind such poor numbers is Japan’s falling birth rate. The country’s older population far exceeds the younger population, making it difficult for the SDF to maintain its current troop levels at 250,000 personnel.
Read More: Japan Plans to Monitor AI Technology Growth in 2024
Worst Time to Be Understaffed
This is the worst time for Japan to be understaffed. China’s military prowess is growing day by day and so is its aggression towards Taiwan. If the tension between them increases, Japan might be dragged into a war.
So to tackle this issue, Japanese authorities have made the following decisions:
- Buy more unmanned drones
- Buy 3 highly-automated air defense warships for 314 billion yen that require only 90 sailors to operate, unlike the present ships that require double.
- Invest 8 billion yen next year for an AI surveillance system for military base security
- Free up some of the current troops from secondary tasks so that they can be given frontline assignments. Hence, training and support operations will be outsourced to retired SDF members or civilian contractors.
- Last but not least, better financial incentives and better living conditions (such as improved access to social media and sleeping quarters with more privacy) will be provided.
In order to meet the personnel quota, they are also trying to attract women to the forces. Currently, they only make up 10% of the troops. However, after a series of high-profile sexual harassment cases, recruiting women has become more difficult than ever.
But the SDF has a plan for that too. It has decided to invest an additional 16.4 billion yen to build accommodations exclusively for female personnel. It will come with better toilets and showers. The agency will also hire outside contractors to support the women and provide them with sexual harassment training.
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