The Japanese coastguard continues to experience a manpower shortage as its ability to safeguard the country’s sovereignty over disputed islands could be affected by the exit of hundreds of its staff.
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A total of 389 people voluntarily resigned from the coastguard in 2024, according to a report in the Yomiuri newspaper, bringing its staff strength down to 14,123 as of the end of the financial year on March 31.
The personnel who left were six fewer compared with the same period a year earlier, partly due to an aggressive recruitment campaign. But there are concerns that more may leave the service this year.
Since 2013, the coastguard has been seeking to recruit more people to counter a rise in intrusions by Chinese vessels into waters around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The islands are presently controlled by Japan, which refers to them as the Senkaku archipelago.
“The coastguard is facing a similar challenge to the Self-Defence Forces, although there are some differences,” said Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues.
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“One of the most fundamental problems for the coastguard is that by its nature, personnel are away from friends and family for extended periods, which makes it less appealing as a career choice,” he told This Week in Asia.