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    The Secret Japan Air Self-Defense Force Gundam – And Other Stories Will all of our giant flying robot space mech dreams come true?

    In August 2014, Japan's defense ministry announced a new "Space Monitoring Force." It will utilize personnel from the Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the country's air force. This new team is supposed to become active by 2019. Russia beat Japan to the punch by establishing the Aerospace Monitoring Forces (AMF) on April 1, 2015. But in 4 more years, the Japanese space force is bound to be way cooler.

    It's mission: to monitor dangerous space debris orbiting Earth and to protect space satellites from collision, as well as "other attacks." Because Japan's Liberal Democratic Party discussed building a real life Gundam in 2012, this new squad might be a part of the secret Japan Air Self-Defense Force Gundam project. The JASDF has battled monsters and extra-terrestrial enemies in many TV shows and movies, so maybe they're bringing fiction to life. Were these shows suggesting that the JASDF is Japan's secret weapon?

    I don't think we'll uncover any classified information. But we can at least look into what JASDF is, its history, its usual activities, and how they appear in TV and film. Let's blast off!

    What Is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force?

    F-15 fighter jet making a turn
    Source: Patrick Cardinal

    The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) is called Koukuu Jieitai 航空自衛隊こうくうじえいたい in Japanese. It is the major aviation arm of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF), called Jieitai 自衛隊じえいたい in Japanese. It handles the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations and this includes both direct and indirect aggression. Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet submitted a package of bills for debate. They're designed to expand Japan's military role overseas. The new legislation might change how the SDF operates. But as of now, they're strictly a defense force. Thus, their slogan is "The Key To Defense, Ready Anytime."

    Although its purpose is to "defend" Japan, most countries consider it a full-fledged air force because it is equipped with many fighter aircraft. As of 2013, it had 769 aircraft in operation. About 350 were fighters.

    The JASDF consists of military units and departments that are special departments of the Ministry of Defense. They are supervised by the Air Staff Office, the Chief of Defense, and the Chief of (Air Self-Defense Force) Staff. The highest authority of the JASDF is the Chief of (Air Self-Defense Force) Staff who resides over the Chief of Defense and is in control of the Air Staff Office. Its personnel is estimated at approximately 47,000. The annual budget they received in 2011 was about 1,060,200,000,000 yen.

    The History Of Japan Air Self-Defense Force

    S-2 Patrol Aircraft at Kanoya Airbase Museum

    After WWII, a study began to determine whether Japan required further militarization. It was conducted by those with ties to the Japanese army, such as Yasuyuki Miyoshi, Sadanori Harada, Kazuo Tanikawa, Monjirou Akiyama, Kouji Tanaka and Shigeru Ura. They believed that Japan must have military preparedness to continue being an independent country. Naturally this preparedness must include an independent air force. They asked for the cooperation of the U.S. Air Force in the creation of the JASDF.

    On July 1st, 1954, the Defense Agency replaced the Security Agency and the JASDF was finally established. The Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), called Rikujou Jieitai 陸上自衛隊りくじょうじえいたい, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), called Kaijou Jieitai 海上自衛隊かいじょうじえいたい were successors of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. The JASDF, however, didn't have a war-era predecessor. Air operations were handled by The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, who both had Air Services.

    What Do They Do?

    personnel conducting exercises
    Source: U.S. Pacific Command

    In times of peace, the JASDF's mission is dealing with foreign aircraft and potentially hostile threats to Japan's airspace. They set up an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ ). This is an air defense radius that a country establishes over waters near its shores. Twenty-eight radar sites were built around Japan for the monitoring of the ADIZ. This resulted in Japan's Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C).

    When an unknown plane crosses the ADIZ, a radio transmitter, running at 121.5MHz or 243MHz, sends a warning. Fighter planes scramble to intercept. Objects confirmed by the intercepting jets are reported to the public by the Joint Staff Office (JSO).

    In times of emergency, the JASDF will conduct naval strikes, air to ground assaults, and air transport to support the Ground Self-Defense Force and Maritime Self-Defense Force. Since their security policy is strictly defensive, their preparation is meant primarily for air-defense and to protect Japan from ambush attacks. They utilize the F-15J, AEW&C, and patriot missiles for this purpose.

    The Real Ability And Cooperation With U.S.

    personnel shake hands with members of USAF
    Source: U.S. Pacific Command

    The JASDF boasts state-of-the-art fighter jets, self-defense systems, and the ground-to-air Patriot missiles. Therefore, its actions have been the most politically restricted, more so than the Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces. For example, precision bombing systems in JASDF jets have been disabled and aerial refueling tankers have been grounded.

    But based on the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty, the JASDF has been securing and strengthening its coordination with the U.S. Air Force since its establishment. They share cipher machines, privacy telephones, a Tactical Digital Information Link (TADIL), and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems. This enables both the U.S. and Japanese forces to operate in their cooperative strategies. English proficiency among personnel is also considered to be very important to those aged 35 or under. Troops must take a JASDF English Proficiency Test every year.

    The number of JASDF aircraft in operation is quite high. The time a given pilot spends practicing is typically over 200 hours per year. There are Japan/U.S. joint maneuvers everyday at a few bases around the country, as well as annual joint maneuvers at Cope North in Guam.

    JASDF in Film, TV, and Anime

    A fighter aircraft attacks Godzilla

    It sure sounds as though the JASDF is capable of quite a lot. As I mentioned earlier, their abilities have been portrayed in various anime and movies. The JASDF doesn't usually suffer losses unless it's from monsters or extra-terrestrial foes. JASDF fighter jets can be seen in the Godzilla film series. Of course, as skilled as they are, they usually don't fare well against Godzilla's atomic breath.

    The JASDF has recently tried to increase its exposure in anime. In 2003, they created a moe anime called Stratos 4. In this series, a group of pilots are set up in a space comet blaster. Although the anime's storyline involves the "United Countries," it seems suspiciously close to the JASDF's latest space project.

    The JASDF helped with the combat scenes in Yukikaze, an anime series that ran from 2003 to 2006. They did the same for scenes in Blood+. It aired the same time as the Gundam series, Saturday at 6pm. Coincidence or conspiracy?

    Okay. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But who knows?

    Japan's Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces sure like Gundam though. They invented a special suit called Advanced Combat Information Equipment System (ACIES), a.k.a "Gundam", in 2007. It cost 4,300,000,000yen ($4.3 million). The person who started calling it "Gundam" was Yoshitaka Akiyama, Director General of the Technical Research & Development Institute within the Japan Ministry of Defense.

    When asked about the Gundam name in an interview with "MAMOR" magazine, he said "I called it Gundam in the sense that we are aiming to invent something like Gundam in the future."

    The interviewer was not satisfied with that answer. So he threw out another question: "You mean, you are considering inventing a giant robot like Mobile Suit Gundam in the future?" The moderator cut off the answer by saying, "I'm afraid we're not able to talk about our future development projects."

    How suggestive is that?

    As some anime fans say, this new project might be "one small step for Gundam." It will hopefully lead to one giant leap for mankind flying around in awesome mech suits. Although the ACIES research on the initial combat suit was probably terminated in 2012, if it followed the original plan, there might be a secret project to invent a real Gundam still going on. They are very secretive about the future, so I am hoping this conspiracy is true….because it's very very exciting!!

    Up in the sky!

    T-4 aircraft flying at a demonstration
    Source: nubobo

    Will the JASDF finally fulfill humanity's destiny by creating giant space robots? Is its space debris defense force the first step in a real life Gundam army? We can hope, but all we know for sure is the current and past JASDF boast some nifty tech and organization. And it's all to make the impossible possible. It's to make our dreams come true! If any combat force were to finally make our sci-fi dreams a reality, it would probably be the JASDF.

    When I think about this kind of stuff, I always feel super wakuwaku ワクワク (excited) and I can't help dancing. You too? Then let's dance all together in hope. Oppa Gundam Style!