JSDF Marching Festival 2019

The JSDF Marching Festival 2019 took place at the 1st Gymnasium of the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo for two days from November 30th to December 1st.
The festival is the JSDF’s largest music event held annually around November as part of the JSDF Day commemoration. This year, the U.S. Army Japan Band and the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band of the U.S. Marine Corps performed in the Festival; and for the first time, the Staff Band of the Bundeswehr and the Military Ceremonial Troupe of the Vietnam People’s Army participated in the event.

The theme of the Festival of this year was “Evolution.”

The Festival consisted of five chapters including “Tradition”, “Expansion” and “Generation”. Splendid harmony was delivered by the JGSDF Central Band, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Tokyo Band, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Central Band, the JGSDF Northern Army Band and the above-stated guest bands. Along with the performances by these bands, drill performance by the JGSDF 302nd Military Police Company, fancy drill by the National Defense Academy Guard of Honor, and drum performance by the JSDF JIEI-DAIKO (Japanese Drum) Teams fascinated audiences with their unity and powerfulness.

In the finale, “Bolero” and “Kibou no Uta” were performed in a joint performance by all the bands. With the closing performance of “Ruriiro no chikyu”, the bands gradually exited the hall and brought the marching festival to a closure.

UN Triangular Partnership Project

From August 26th to November 15th, 22 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) personnel were dispatched to Uganda to instruct engineering personnel from the Defense Force of Republic of Uganda on the operation of heavy equipment under the UN Triangular Partnership Project for Rapid Deployment of Enabling Capabilities, which is implemented by the UN Department of Operational Support.

Since 2015, the MOD/JSDF has conducted a total of nine operational training exercises for heavy equipment in Africa, to which a total of 172 JSDF personnel and officers have been dispatched to train 277 engineering personnel from African countries.

JSDF Joint Exercise (01JX)

The JSDF held the 2019 JSDF Joint Exercise (field training exercise) from November 11th to 21st. This is the largest joint exercise in this year, involving approx. 32,000 personnel, approx. 1,600 vehicles, eight warships, and approx. 160 aircraft from the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces.

The objective of the exercise is to maintain and improve the joint operational capability of the JSDF. The participating units carried out training for joint operations in new domains such as electromagnetic spectrum and cyberspace as well as in the conventional areas of land, sea and air.

In the amphibious operations drills conducted on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, a total of 1,500 personnel participated, including the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade and 1st Helicopter Brigade from the JGSDF; destroyers JS Kaga and JS Fuyuzuki, transport vessels JS Shimokita and JS Kunisaki from the JMSDF; and F-2 fighters from the JASDF. They conducted landing drills using amphibious vehicles, and in addition, the destroyers and fighters conducted fire drills at Oki Daito Jima Range.

Furthermore, in the exercise on “comprehensive air and missile defense” which was incorporated in the latest National Defense Program Guidelines formulated at the end of last year, drills such as anti-fighter combat drills and air defense drills were conducted by middle-range multi-purpose missile units from the JGSDF; destroyer JS Atago from the JMSDF; F-15, F-2 fighters and air defense missile units from the JASDF.

The electronic warfare drill was also carried out by using EP-3 utility aircraft from the JMSDF and YS-11 electronic support aircraft from the JASDF.

Pacific Reach 2019 Submarine Rescue Exercise

From November 4th to 15th, the JMSDF participated in the Pacific Reach 2019, the eighth submarine rescue exercise in the Western Pacific.

The exercise was conducted by the countries holding the submarine rescue capabilities in the Western Pacific for the purpose of improving the capabilities and enhancing trust among the participating navies.

This year’s event was hosted by Australia, joined by Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia. The JMSDF dispatched Submarine Rescue Ship “Chiyoda.” to jointly conduct submarine rescue exercise, and search and rescue Table Top Exercise as well as a medical symposium and other events with the participating countries.

Through this exercise, the MOD/JSDF worked to increase mutual knowledge and experience in submarine rescue and to enhance relationships of trust with the participating countries.

HA/DR cooperation with Indonesia

On November 20th, the MOD/JSDF held a Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) Seminar in Jakarta as a kick-off for a defense cooperation project in Indonesia. The seminar enhanced Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) s’ understanding of the JSDF disaster response capabilities, and contributed to strengthening cooperation between the MOD/JSDF and Indonesia MOD/TNI.