63rd anniversary of Japan Self-Defence Forces Day celebrated

Islamabad

To celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the Japan Self-Defence Forces Day (JSDF), Ambassador of Japan Takashi Kurai and Mrs. Rieko Kurai hosted a reception.

Defence Attaché, Embassy of Japan, Colonel Koji Hirata, represented the JSDF. The reception was attended by parliamentarians, senior civilian and military officials of the Government of Pakistan, members of the diplomatic community and other guests from the public and private sectors, while Quarter Master General at General Headquarters, Lieutenant General Javed Mehmood Bukhari (HIM), was the guest of honour and the cake was cut after the national anthems of both countries was played.

The reception was held at a hotel here, while pictures of the work done by the SDF during natural disasters were showcased in the lobby as this is one of its main activities.

Addressing the guests, Ambassador Kurai said it was a great pleasure to welcome them at the celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the SDF, then went on to explain that it was celebrated outside Japan on its anniversary but in Japan it was celebrated on November 1st. “During the early post war period, Japan was still in the process of recovery from the effects of the war and vulnerable to disasters which often take place in summer or autumn,” he said. “During these seasons the Defence Forces should be prepared for relief activities to help those who may suffer from these disasters, so the Defence Ministry decided to designate November 1st as the date for commemorating the establishment of SDF to ensure that people are protected from disasters.” 

He then went on to speak of Pakistan Japan cooperation in disaster relief and counter piracy activities through Combined Task Force (CTF)-1; mentioned that Japan Maritime Force was a part of the multinational naval exercise Aman organised by the Pakistan navy and that the history of bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Japan is longer than that of Japans post-war defence.

“I do hope that Pakistan and Japan will further strengthen the cooperation not only in the political or economic fields but also in defence areas such as disaster management; UN peacekeeping operation activities; training and exchange of military personnel as an integral part of our overall bilateral relationship,” he said “Japan Pakistan zindabad. Thank you and bahut shukriya!”  

Article 9 of Japan’s post-war constitution, the Japanese renounced war and pledged never to maintain land, sea, or air forces. The rearming of Japan in the 1950s was therefore cast in terms of self-defence. In 1950 a small military force called the National Police Reserve was created; this became the National Safety Force in 1952 and the Self-Defence Force in 1954 with the guiding principle ‘to serve the people always comes first.’