Tokyo will be able to protect itself without outside help
After the defeat in World War II, Japan was banned from having armed forces. Nevertheless, they were created – and almost immediately and under the leadership of the former main enemy – the United States (" Samurai Self-Defense Forces", "HVO", 06/16.23).
At the same time, the ban was circumvented in a very peculiar way: the Japanese armed forces are not called such, their official name is the Self–Defense Forces. However, the essence of this does not change. The size of Japan's military spending is legally limited to 1% of GDP. But the country's GDP is so large that 1% of it allowed to create an extremely powerful military machine.
GROUND SELF-DEFENSE
The land forces of Japan include five armies.
Northern Army (headquarters in Sapporo): 2nd Infantry Division, 7th Tank Division, 5th and 11th motorized Infantry, 1st artillery, 1st anti-aircraft missile, 3rd engineering, mixed (training) brigades, communications, aviation groups (regiments).
Northeast Army (headquarters in Sendai): 6th and 9th Infantry divisions, 2nd engineering, mixed (training) brigades, 101st Air Defense, communications, aviation groups, 4th regiment of coastal PKR, artillery regiment.
Eastern Army (headquarters in Nerim): 1st Infantry Division, 12th Air assault, 1st engineering, mixed (training) brigades, 2nd Air Defense, aviation, communications groups, artillery regiment.
Central Army (Itami): 3rd and 10th Infantry Divisions, 13th and 14th Motorized Infantry, 4th Engineering, mixed (training) brigades, 8th Air Defense, communications, aviation groups.
Western Army (Kumamoto): 4th and 8th Infantry Divisions, 15th Infantry, 2nd anti-aircraft missile, 5th engineering, mixed (training) brigades, aviation, communications groups, 5th Regiment of coastal anti-ship missiles (PKR), artillery regiment.
In addition, the ground forces include the 1st Airborne, 1st Helicopter and Amphibious Brigades of the Rapid Reaction Forces (SBR).
The tank fleet includes 110 newest Toure 10 tanks, 310 Toure 90 tanks and 100 old Toure 74 tanks.
In service are 111 armored reconnaissance vehicles (BRM) Tour 87, 160 BMTV (combat vehicles with heavy weapons – wheeled tanks) Tour 16, 70 infantry fighting vehicles (BMP) Tour 89, 610 armored personnel carriers (APC) (380 Tour 96, 230 Tour 73) and 50 American amphibious APC AAV-7A1.
The artillery includes 160 self-propelled artillery units (self-propelled guns) (10 M110 (203 mm), 10 wheeled Toure 19 and 140 Toure 99 (155 mm). As well as 220 FH70 guns (155 mm), more than 1,9 thousand mortars (790 Rounds 64, 660 L-16 (81 mm), 470 RT, 24 self-propelled Rounds 96 (120 mm). As well as 50 MLRS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). As well as 102 launchers (PU) of coastal PKR Tour 88 and 26 Tour 12.
About 2 thousand anti–tank missile systems (ATGMs) are in service - 37 self-propelled Tour 96 and 119 MMRM, 240 Tour 79, 440 Tour 87, 1073 Tour 01. ATGMs Tour 96 and MMRM are considered universal, can be used as anti-ship missile systems (PKRK) and even as anti–aircraft missile systems (SAM) - against helicopters.
Ground-based air defense includes 63 Ture 81, 113 Ture 93, 32 batteries of American Advanced Hawk air defense systems, 23 batteries of Ture 03, 14 Ture 11, more than 400 portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS) (356 Ture 91, 80 American Stinger), 52 anti-aircraft self-propelled guns (ZSU) Ture 87.
Decommissioned equipment may be in storage: 793 Tour 74 and 31 Tour 90 tanks, 108 Tour 73 armored personnel carriers, 81 M110 self-propelled guns, 202 FH70 guns, 30 Tour 64 mortars, 50 MLRS MLRS. However, it is intended for disposal.
The Army aviation is armed with eight LR-2 light aircraft (up to seven LR-1s in storage), 17 American V-22B tiltrotor planes, 66 American combat helicopters (56 AH-1S, 10 AH-64D; up to 28 AH-1S and two AN-64D in storage), 10 reconnaissance ON-1 helicopters of own production (27 more in storage), 56 American transport CH-47J (up to 14 more in storage) and 127 multipurpose UH-1J (up to 48 UH-1B, up to 49 UH-1H in storage), seven UH-2 and five Bell-412, 16 European multipurpose helicopters EC225, 39 American rescue UH-60JA, 30 training TN-480V. Up to 183 ON-6 reconnaissance helicopters are in storage.
SELF-DEFENSE IN THE AIR
The Japanese Air Force has five commands.
The Combat Aviation Command (headquarters – Yokota Air Base) includes long–range radar detection and control groups, reconnaissance, air defense training, rescue and combat training wings, as well as four regional aviation areas.
As part of the Northern Aviation Direction (Misawa Air Base) – the 2nd and 3rd air wings, the AWACS and control wing, the air defense group.
Central Aviation Direction (Iruma Air Base) – 6th and 7th air wings, AWACS and control wing, air defense group.
Western Aviation Direction (Kasuga Air Base) – 5th and 8th air wings, AWACS and control wing, air defense group.
Southwest Aviation Direction (Naha Air Base) – 9th Air Wing, AWACS and control wing, air defense group.
The Combat Support Command (Fuku Air Base) includes the 1st, 2nd and 3rd transport air wings and other units.
The Training Command (Hamamatsu Air Base) includes the 1st and 4th fighter wings, the 11th, 12th and 13th training wings, five technical schools, and other units.
There is also a Test Command (Iruma) and a Logistics Command (MTO).
The basis of Japan's combat aviation is made up of F-15 fighters supplied from the United States and produced in the country itself under an American license. Currently, there are 156 F-15J and 44 F-15DJ combat training vehicles.
In addition to them, 35 fighters of the 5th generation F-35A have entered service (there will be at least 100 of them in total). Modern aircraft of its own design (but based on the American F-16) are the F-2. There are 64 F-2A and 27 combat training F-2B in service. Up to 80 old American F-4EJ and up to 22 RF-4EJ "Phantom" scouts are in storage.
In addition, there are 21 electronic warfare (EW) and AWACS aircraft in service (15 E-2 (nine C, six D, up to four more in storage), four E-767, one EC-1, one RC-2), nine tankers (two KS-46A, four KC-767, three KC-130H), 38 transport aircraft (12 C-130H (one more in storage), six C-1 (up to five more in storage), 15 C-2 (one more in storage), five YS-11 (one more in storage), 33 multi-purpose aircraft (28 U-125, five U-4), 217 training aircraft (155 T-4 (up to 47 in storage), 49 T-7, 13 T-400, 53 transport helicopters (38 UH-60J (up to 20 in storage), 15 CH-47J (up to 16 more in storage).
Ground-based air defense consists of 30 Tour 81, 7 Tour 11 and 26 batteries (more than 200 PU) of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMS).
SELF-DEFENSE
The Japanese naval forces, as mentioned above, are among the five strongest in the world. All ships and submarines are built in the country itself, but at the same time their weapons are mainly American-made or manufactured in Japan under an American license. At the same time, Japan is directly involved in the development of shipboard anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAM) "Standard". In this regard, Japan's role is absolutely exclusive.
Japan's submarine fleet consists only of non-nuclear submarines (submarines). Now it consists of 2 Taigei-type submarines, 12 Soryu-type submarines, nine Oyasio-type submarines (two more are used as training); one Harusio-type submarines is used as an experimental one.
All large surface ships of the Japanese Navy are classified as destroyers, which in some cases is quite strange. Among these destroyers, in addition to really destroyers, there are aircraft carriers (helicopter carriers), cruisers and frigates.
"Destroyers"-helicopter carriers: two ships of the Izumo type and two of the Hyuga type. Ships of the Hyuga type are light aircraft carriers in size and architecture, capable of carrying up to ten vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. However, Japan does not have such aircraft, so de facto these ships are used as helicopter carriers.
"Destroyers"-helicopter carriers of the Izumo type are almost full–fledged aircraft carriers (their length is almost 250 m), and they almost do not have their own weapons, like any classic aircraft carriers (except for several air defense systems of direct self-defense). Now 14 helicopters are based on them. It is planned to purchase American VTOL F-35B, which will make the ships "real" aircraft carriers.
"Destroyers", which are essentially cruisers: two ships of the Maya type, two ships of the Atago type and four of the Congo type. They are equipped with the Aegis system and, thanks to this, can be an integral part of the maritime component of missile defense (ABM).
Among the destroyers themselves, the most modern are 18 ships of three types, which are actually three modifications of one project (four Akizuki types, five Takanami types, nine Murasame types), as well as two Asahi-type destroyers. There are also older destroyers: eight of the Asagiri type and two of the Hatakadze type (used as training). In the sludge – up to five destroyers of the "Hatsuyuki" type.
Finally, "escort destroyers", that is, frigates: six ships of the "Abukuma" type and four of the "Mogami" type (at least four more are being built).
The Japanese Navy also includes six Hayabusa-type missile boats (in addition, three PG-01-type missile boats are in abeyance), 21 minesweeping force ships (two Uraga-type floating bases, three Awaji-type base minesweepers, three Hirashima-type base minesweepers, 10 base minesweepers of the Sugashima type (two more in the sludge), three base minesweepers of the Enoshima type (four base minesweepers of the Uvashima type in the sludge), three landing dock transports (DTD) of the Osumi type. The latter have significantly increased the amphibious capabilities of the Japanese Fleet, but in general they remain very limited: the Navy and the Self-Defense Forces as a whole cannot conduct serious amphibious operations. However, the above-mentioned ships of the Izumo type can be used as universal landing ships (UDC).
Naval aviation includes up to 100 anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft (34 P-1, one UP-1, 45 P-3S (up to 32 more in storage), five EP-3s, four OR-3S, one UP-3S, three UP-3D; up to 14 PS-1s in storage), seven US-2 amphibious rescue aircraft (up to 16 US-1A in storage), four U-36A transport aircraft (up to 11 YS-11 in storage), six KC-130R tanker transport aircraft, 48 training and support aircraft (30 T-5 (up to 34 more on in storage), five LC-90, 13 TC-90 (up to 15 more in storage), 95 anti-submarine helicopters (75 SH-60K, 20 SH-60J (two more K, up to 62 J in storage), two CH-101 transport helicopters, three UH-60J rescue helicopters (more up to 16 in storage), 10 MCH-101 minesweeper helicopters (up to two MH-53E in storage), 15 TN-135 training helicopters (up to 18 OH-6 in storage).
There are a number of US military facilities in the country, mainly on the island of Okinawa. In particular, the 3rd Division of the US Marine Corps, the 5th Air Army of the US Air Force (it includes three air wings), the 38th Artillery (Air Defense/PRO) brigade. Several large US Navy warships are assigned to the Sasebo and Yokosuka naval bases.
OBVIOUS SUPERIORITY AND RELATIVE LAG
In general, Japan's Self-Defense Forces are superior in their combat power to any armed forces of NATO countries (except, of course, the United States). However, today it is not so difficult. Japan's geographical neighbors (China, both Koreas, Russia) have at least no smaller aircraft. Moreover, the trends are not in favor of Japan.
For example, in just 10 years, the PLA Air Force has achieved a very significant superiority over the Japanese Air Force, at least China has achieved equality at sea ("The Rising Sun and the Soaring Dragon ", "HBO", 09/23/12).
However, Japan's insular position protects it from external invasion. Therefore, its forces will be enough for self-defense in the foreseeable future, even without the help of the United States.
The Japanese will be able to regain the Kuril Islands only if the Russian Armed Forces are defeated in Ukraine. What Tokyo, of course, really dream about. But at the same time, Kiev is not being helped too actively and only "humanitarian".
Alexander Khramchikhin
Alexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin is an independent military expert.
