Message

• Mar 30, 2023

  Thank you for visiting the Joint Staff website. I am General YOSHIDA Yoshihide, the 7th Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff, having received an official appointment from Defense Minister HAMADA on March 30, 2023.
  　I have succeeded to this position from General YAMAZAKI and am braving myself and determined to take up the grave responsibility. I will make every effort to fulfill my mission.

  Today, I recognize that the global community faces a watershed whether it can deny acts to unilaterally change the status quo by force and maintain the rules-based international order as you could clearly see from the Russian invasion against Ukraine that started last year.
  　The Indo-Pacific region is a focal point in the global security, and Japan is situated at the forefront of the region. Assuming my duty, I have a strong sense of crisis that I cannot deny the possibility that a serious situation could occur just like Ukraine in the Indo-Pacific region particularly in East Asia.

  Based on the recognition that the security environment surrounding Japan is the most severe and complex since the end of World War II, the Government of Japan formulated three strategic documents at the end of 2022,“National Security Strategy,” “National Defense Strategy,” and “Defense Buildup Program”. The Fiscal Year 2023 is truly “the first year” to fundamentally reinforce Japan's defense capabilities.

  On the other hand, I feel that an unprecedented crisis also creates many opportunities we have never had before. In the Indo-Pacific region, there has been a sharp increase in the opportunities for allied and like-minded countries to gather and become united. Japan is also moving toward building a whole-nation defense structure by integrating its national power including diplomacy, information, economy and technology, in addition to fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities.

  Under these circumstances, as the Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff, I would like to contribute to the peace and security of Japan by realizing “a fundamentally reinforced joint operation posture” through three “fusion” approaches as follows: “fusion of strategy level and operation level,” “fusion of defense capability development and operations” and “fusion of joint, Japan-U.S. cooperation, multilateral collaboration and interagency cooperation”

  At this very moment, in land, sea, and air surrounding Japan, as well as outer space and cyber space, the members of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces are steadily executing their actions such as conducting Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, maintaining their readiness postures, training vigorously to strengthen deterrence, engaging in disaster relief activities and so on.
  　In addition, they contribute to protecting Japan's national interests, building trust with other nations and improving the global security environment by conducting their activities at various places overseas including the offshore of Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, the Sinai Peninsula, and South Sudan.

  I am determined to accomplish my duties with my all-out effort by exerting all my strength to ensure the security of Japan now and in the future and create the Joint Defense Force that can fulfill the mandate entrusted by Japanese people.
  　I sincerely appreciate your continuous support and deep understanding for the activities of the Japan Self Defense Forces.