# Japan appoints first woman to command warship squadron



## jollyjacktar (7 Mar 2018)

I can imagine how hard she has worked for this position.  Fair winds.



> TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s navy on Tuesday appointed the first woman to command a warship squadron, including the flagship Izumo helicopter carrier, as it tries to lure more females to make up for a dearth of male recruits in graying Japan.
> 
> Ryoko Azuma, will command four ships with a combined crew of 1,000, of which only 30 are women, that make up the Maritime Self Defense Force’s (MSDF) First Escort Division.
> 
> ...


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## Eaglelord17 (8 Mar 2018)

Japans military is very interesting to me. You have a military which is literally a civilian organization that people can quit in 2 weeks. Coupled with a very (at the moment) pacifist mentality it means they have a extremely hard time recruiting.


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## mariomike (8 Mar 2018)

Eaglelord17 said:
			
		

> Coupled with a very (at the moment) pacifist mentality it means they have a extremely hard time recruiting.



Apparently less so in rural prefectures,

"Predominantly rural prefectures supply military enlistees far beyond the proportions of their populations. In areas such as southern Kyushu and northern Hokkaido, where employment opportunities are limited, recruiters are welcomed and supported by the citizens."
https://apjjf.org/2012/10/36/Fumika-Sato/3820/article.html


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## dimsum (9 Mar 2018)

mariomike said:
			
		

> Apparently less so in rural prefectures,
> 
> "Predominantly rural prefectures supply military enlistees far beyond the proportions of their populations. In areas such as southern Kyushu and northern Hokkaido, where employment opportunities are limited, recruiters are welcomed and supported by the citizens."
> https://apjjf.org/2012/10/36/Fumika-Sato/3820/article.html



That seems like a global truth, at least in the militaries I've worked with.


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## mariomike (9 Mar 2018)

Dimsum said:
			
		

> That seems like a global truth, at least in the militaries I've worked with.



Regarding attracting more recruits into the SDF, a quote from "A Camouflaged Military: Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and Globalized Gender Mainstreaming" ( 2012 ) by Fumika Sato that I found of interest,

"If the SDF admits women, we could gain more supporters. This is because if one woman decides to become an SDF member, she would have to persuade everyone in her family. Moreover, such a woman with a healthy spirit would bear children who would become soldiers."


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