Self-Defense Forces to discontinue annual review ceremony
On Wednesday, the ministry said that it has become difficult to continue the event, which will not be held unless the security environment changes dramatically in the future.
In the review ceremony, hosted in turns by the Ground, Maritime and Air SDFs every autumn, the prime minister, or the supreme SDF commander, gives instructions to the troops gathered from around the country. It is also designed to help Japanese nationals deepen their understanding of SDF activities.
In the face of increased military activities by China and Russia around Japan, however, the SDF needs to concentrate its personnel on surveillance and other efforts to cope with the situation, according to the ministry.
The review ceremony began in 1951, during the time of the National Police Reserve, the predecessor of the SDF.
In November last year, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended a review ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Defense Agency, currently the Defense Ministry, and the SDF, at a training field of the GSDF's Camp Asaka, which straddles Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture.
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