On March 24, the Japanese Ministry of Defense established a new Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group, a joint unit of the Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces, at the JMSDF Kure Base. The initial number of members at the unit is about 100, according the Ground Staff Office in Tokyo.
The new unit consists of the command headquarters, the 1st Marine Transportation Squadron, and the 2nd Marine Transportation Squadron. Each squadron will be equipped with their own dedicated transport ships.
This unit is directly controlled by the defense minister, but it is managed by the
, a spokesperson at the Ground Staff Office told Naval News on March 24.
The establishment of the new SDF unit came after the Defense Buildup Program, which was approved by the National Security Council and the Cabinet in December 2022, called for improving the mobile deployment capabilities to the nation’s southwestern region by establishing a new joint SDF maritime transport unit.
In recent years, Japan has been increasingly becoming concerned about a Taiwan contingency.
It is currently strengthening its transportation capabilities to deploy troops and transport fuel, ammunition, supplies, and vehicles to front-line bases, especially in the nation’s southwestern Nansei island chain, which spans about 1,200 km from Kagoshima to Okinawa, stretching southwest towards Taiwan.
JGSDF photo
The chain also includes the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.
The Nansei Islands are located on the so-called first island chain facing China on the very front line.
The Defense Buildup Program not only emphasized the importance of mobile deployment capabilities but also that of civil protection.
“In order to secure capabilities for swift and reliable transportation of necessary units to defeat the invasion of islands to the southwest region, MOD/SDF will procure various transportation assets such as transport ships (LSVs, LCUs and maneuverable boats), transport aircraft (C-2), aerial refueling/ transport aircraft (KC-46A, etc.), and transport/ utility helicopters (CH-47J/JA, UH-2),”
Defense Buildup Program
A total of ten transport ships are scheduled to be deployed with the unit by the end of March 2028 at the at the JMSDF Kure Base. In particular, there will be four landing craft utility (LCU) vessels, two landing support vessels (LSV), and four maneuver support vessels (MSVs).
In October 2024, the Japanese shipbuilder Naikai Zosen already launched
(with pennant number 4151), on order for the JGSDF. One month later, the same shipbuilder also launched
(with pennant number 4101), on order for the JGSDF.
On March 24, the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo also launched a new joint operations command at the ministry’s headquarters in Tokyo with a staff of about 240 personnel.
At a Cabinet meeting on March 11, the Japanese government appointed Lieutenant General Nagumo Kenichiro, vice chief of staff at the Joint Staff of the JSDF, as the first head of the Joint Operations Command. He has the authority to unify the three branches of the JSDF from peacetime to times of emergency – especially with a Taiwan emergency in mind.
