The military art of any state is full ofspecific traditions that have been shaped by centuries. The ability to wage war was famous for many countries in world history, but only some of them have preserved the ancient customs in our time. As practice shows, such states are as efficient as possible, because the war for their soldiers is an innate instinct. Among such states is Switzerland, famous for its mercenaries, Germany, which twice waged war against the whole world, Great Britain with its best navigators, and also Spain, whose infantry is known to the whole world. But in world history there is one more country whose army is no worse than the above. This state repeatedly waged war with China, Russia, and also played an important role in World War II. Thus, the article will deal with the structure, size, history and other characteristics of the army of the state Japan.
The modern army of Japan is a historicalecho of the once existing army, which was known to the whole world through its ruthlessness, strength and power. However, the creation of the Japanese army was preceded by a series of reforms. Initially, there was no single military formation in Japan.
In 1945, Japan was defeated in the Secondworld war. The occupation troops of the United States of America liquidated the imperial army, and by mid-1947 absolutely all military schools had been closed, traditional martial arts classes were prohibited. Since then, the state of Japan is under the full control of the United States.
The armed forces of Japan act on the basis of principles that have incorporated many moral norms and political doctrines. There are only five basic principles:
1. Refusal to attack. This means that the state will not use its troops for direct attack, violation of the territorial integrity of other states.
2. Refusal to use nuclear weapons.
3. Ubiquitous continuous monitoring of Japan's self-defense activities.
4. Military cooperation with the United States of America. After the Second World War, Japan is the largest military ally of the United States outside NATO.
The presented list of principles is not exhaustive, as Japan seeks to ensure full transparency of its military activities.
It should be noted that the army of Japan hasambiguous legal status. The Constitution of Japan prohibits the creation of any military formations on the territory of the state, which is enshrined in Article 9 of the Basic Law.
Along with the armies of other states, the armyJapan today has a standard structure of four basic elements. The convenience of such a construction of the armed forces is due to the speed of interaction between the individual elements. There are the following structural elements, of which the army of Japan consists, namely:
- Ground Forces of self-defense.
- Naval forces of self-defense.
- Air Self-Defense Forces.
The fourth main element of the armed forces is the special services. They are usually selected as a separate system unit, since they have their own hierarchy and complex internal structure.
The Imperial Army was famous for itsair-force formations, which proved themselves well during the Second World War. Today, Japan's self-defense air forces have adopted the traditions of the imperial army, but the goals differ significantly.
Naval forces are the main way to protect the territory of Japan, because the state is located on several islands. This is the most combat-capable part of the armed forces.
Special services are allocated to a separate groupdepartments, which form a separate element of the structure of the Armed Forces of Japan. All of them have their own regulatory framework, as well as a number of specific functional tasks. Such services include:
- Information and Research Bureau (the activity of the service is unclear because of the small number of employees and a high degree of secrecy).
- Military intelligence (service that is based on intelligence achievements of the imperial army, and also largely adopted the experience of intelligence of the United States).
- Information and research management.
- The main police department (the main body of public safety).
- Investigation Department.
- Counterintelligence military (the main counter-intelligence agency of Japan).
In addition, new services are constantly being created in Japan as social and international relations develop.
In addition, it should be said thatthe strength of the army of Japan is growing every year. In addition, the amount of money that the government spends on maintaining the army is also increasing. Thus, to date, Japan's self-defense is one of the most professional and dangerous armed formations in the world, even taking into account the neutral status of the state.