(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Today, I have one announcement at the outset. I would like to report on the number of Self-Defense Force (SDF) personnel hired in FY2025. With the number of people eligible for recruitment decreasing due to a declining birthrate, which is causing serious labor shortages in Japan, the job-to-applicant ratio for recent high school graduates remained high as of the end of July 2025, similar to the previous year. Accordingly, there continues to be intense competition to secure human resources. Against this backdrop, the number of SDF personnel hired in FY2025 was 11,177, up 1,453 from the previous fiscal year. This represents a 14.9% increase year on year. Among those hired, the number of general candidates for enlistment (upper) increased for the first time in five years to 4,946. The number of candidates for uniformed SDF personnel continued to rise from the previous fiscal year to 4,320. I would like to highlight that the number of candidates for uniformed SDF personnel who were hired grew by approximately 35% compared to the previous fiscal year. The increase in the number hired is attributed to the measures taken by the Ministry of Defense (MOD), including improving the treatment and living and working environments of SDF personnel and establishing new lifetime career plans, as well as to the efforts of public relations officers on the ground who are tasked with the important mission of recruiting SDF personnel. The pillar of our defense capability is people, and securing SDF personnel is an utmost priority. The MOD will continue to implement measures to transform the MOD/SDF into an organization that truly values its workforce, so that SDF personnel can perform their national defense mission with high morale. That concludes my opening remarks.