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Acting on Impulse

(Photo: JASDF Kumagaya AB via X @kumagaya_jasdf)

(October 2024) Amid all the 70th anniversary-related activities, former Blue Impulse team T-4 46-5729 was quietly dismantled and transported by road from Matsushima to Kumagaya AB. Having arrived on October 7, re-assembly was commenced that same day. Manufactured in 1994, the aircraft had been in retirement since March 2018. The official unveiling at its new permanent home is scheduled for February next year.

(Photo: JASDF Kumagaya AB via X @kumagaya_jasdf)

JASDF Platinum Jubilee Additions

The Komatsu-based 306th TFS’s floral contribution to the 70th anniversary proceedings is likely
 to remain the year’s most elaborately decorated F-15J. (Photo: Kenzo via X @kenzo_3516)

(September-October 2024) As the intense heat of summer gave way to the lingering heat of autumn, additions to the aircraft specially marked for the 70th anniversary emerged from JASDF base paint shops. As these aircraft will be covered in more detail on the respective squadron history pages in due course, only selected preview images are included here.

At the Chitose air show, the specially decorated front-line aircraft were F-15J 32-8816 painted to
mark the 203rd TFS’s 60th anniversary (see July 2024 story) and the 201st TFS F-15DJ (02-8071)
that was still wearing the markings applied for the multinational Pacific Skies 2024 exercise in July
 (link). It was thus left to the resident Air Rescue Squadron to publicize the JASDF anniversary.
(Photos: [Top] かりす via X @TeamCaris; [above] たむたむ via Facebook)

Featuring an intricate dragon design on its upper surfaces, the Komatsu-based F-15J chosen to be
the 303rd TFS’s flag bearer was finished in the colours of the bullet trains on the Hokuriku Line.
In 2024, its network was extended to link Kanazawa and Tsuruga in Ishikawa and
Fukui prefectures, respectively. (Photo: Kenzo via X @kenzo_3516)

Positioned to hammer home the message during upcoming flying displays, including that at its
Ashiya home base, the 13th FTW T-4 carries the simple message JASDF70th under its fuselage.
(Photo: まりやん via X @luna_parfum)

302nd Reaches Five-Decade Milestone

Profile view of the specially finished 302nd TFS F-35A when on static display at the
Misawa air show. (Photo: ラースベリーズ via X @shidenkai301)

(September 2024) As this year coincides with its 50th anniversary, it seems that the 302nd TFS will join the 203rd TFS (see July story) has been excused participation in a JASDF 70th anniversary marking project.

At the time of the Misawa air show on September 8, the second F-35A was displayed with an enlarged version of the unit’s well-known eagle tail marking. Taking its lead from the 301st’s anniversary scheme last year, the paint crew had used the aircraft’s nosewheel doors to advertise the anniversary.

On September 28, the official ceremony saw the brief revival of the full-colour eagle tail marking (link) (link). It was reported that this would be briefly retained, during which time the aircraft would be restricted to training missions.

Detailed photos of the markings carried when present for the Misawa air show can be found on the JASDF Squadron Histories Part 1 page.

Tsuiki AB Reveals 70th Anniversary Designs

(Photo: RKB毎日放送NEWS via X @rkbnews4ch)

(September 2024) Following its call for members of the public to submit proposals (see April 2024 Bulletin Board story), Tsuiki AB unveiled the aircraft adorned with the two winning tail marking designs on September 9. The unveiling ceremony was covered in a short news item uploaded to YouTube by Fukuoka-based RKB Mainichi Broadcasting (link).

In Tsuiki’s case, the markings commemorate the 70th anniversary not only of the JASDF but also of the base, which was under U.S. control in 1954 and remained so until 1957. Selected from a total of 99 submissions, each design was applied to both sides of an F-2A’s vertical tail. The names of the designers, KINO.T and UNAGAMI.T, were carried by 63-8536 (6th TFS) and ’538, respectively.

First JASDF 70th Anniversary Design Unveiled

Squadron personnel give a traditional send-off to 3rd Sqn F-2As as they depart for Exercise Tarang
Shakti in India. The two aircraft nearest the camera carry the distinctive tail markings that
are the unit’s contribution to the JASDF’s 70th anniversary celebrations.
(Photo: JASDF Hyakuri via X @jasdf_hyakuri)

(August 2024) Hyakuri AB was the setting for the first public airing of two JASDF aircraft wearing official 70th anniversary special markings.

The 3rd TFS aircraft in question (F-2A 93-8551 and F-2B 53-8130) had been given identical tail markings. On the left side of their tail fins, the standard blue samurai helmet squadron marking appears to float against a background of a white rippling sea and what appears to be the moon; the red used on the right side gives it the appearance of a setting sun.

The Hyakuri tail marking design has a distinctly Japanese art feel. We await the result of the call
for suggestions put out by Tsuiki AB. (see April 2024 Bulletin Board story).
(Photos: JASDF Hyakuri via X @jasdf_hyakuri)

Both aircraft were to participate in the second phase of the Indian Air Force Exercise Tarang Shakti (Wave Power) 24 to be held at Indian AF Station Jodphur from August 29 to September 14.

The underwing tanks carry English and Japanese versions of the same inscription and ninja stars
flanked by a ninja silhouette and the official JASDF 70th anniversary badge.
(Photos: JASDF Hyakuri via X @jasdf_hyakuri)

Prototype US-2 Sent to Retirement Home

Wearing a nose wreath containing the kanji for decommissioning, US-2 9901 sits outside the
hangar at ShinMaywa’s Konan Plant in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, August 7, 2024.
(Photo: JMSDF Hanshin Public Relations via X @jmsdf_hanki_pr)

(August 2024) The prototype US-2 became the first to be retired when officially decommissioned at a ceremony held at its manufacturer’s Konan Plant on August 7. The aircraft had made its last flight on July 31, when ferried back to its place of birth from JMSDF Iwakuni.

It is thought that the aircraft was handed back to ShinMaywa to undergo a close inspection of its condition after 20 years of service and to use parts on future progressive aircraft rework (PAR) overhauls of the six aircraft that remain operational.

Initially finished in a red-and-white corporate colour scheme, 9901 was first flown (from the sea)
on December 18, 2003, and delivered for testing on March 24, 2004.
(Photo [undated]: 銀次via X @wwBIOSww)

9901 bobs along the waterway toward the Konan Plant after completing its last flight.
Its colour scheme was changed to operational service blue circa late 2009.
(Photo: いっちゃん via X @nobuya0827)

Part of the ceremonials normally call for the nose of a retiring Japanese aircraft to be
anointed with sake. As the size of the US-2 made that tradition difficult to maintain,
its nosewheel sufficed. (Photo: ShinMaywa Industries via Instagram)

203rd TFS 60th Anniversary

(Photo: Jagariko via X @Jagariko_No.1)

(July 2024) In this the JASDF’s 70th anniversary year, the 203rd TFS gave priority to marking the passing of 60 years since its formation as the Starfighter-equipped 203rd Sqn  at Komaki AB on June 26, 1964. It was to be only a matter of months before the unit moved to commence what has proven to be a long association with Chitose AB.

The earliest readily available photo record of the newly repainted aircraft’s existence shows the aircraft’s left side when taxying at Chitose on July 22 (link).

When seen from the side, the scheme of an opened yellow fan on all four sides of the two vertical tails, with a crude 60 on the inside surfaces and the kanji meaning congratulations on the outside, appears to be gaudy and simplistic. In contrast, the upper surfaces are adorned with a full-span version of the 203rd’s bear marking, wearing a chanchanko (padded sleeveless kimono jacket) and holding two more yellow fans. There are only partial fans on the upper surfaces of the horizontal tail surfaces, so possibly each full fan is intended to denote 10 years. The kanji for congratulations and the 60 are repeated, respectively, on the port and starboard wings.

The aircraft starred at the Matsushima AB air show on August 25, where all the accompanying photos were taken.

(Above and below) Shots of 816 in action and at rest at Matsushima. The inscription on the
underwing tank on this side reads 60th Anniversary of Squadron’s Formation.
(Photos [both via X]: [Top] せっちいー @Setchy111: [above] ヴィトマン @ahGTMiUKicuHY06)

JASDF Air Park Zero’s Suspension Period Ends

Split personality. Brought down to earth, the Air Park Zero sits in a temporary enclosure.
The facility’s management must have run out of their hideous barricades of choice,
seen in front of the F-86D. (Photo: 浜 松吉 via X @anticoACL)

(June 2024) Exactly 80 years after being shot down over Guam in July 1944, the Air Park A6M5 Zero that has been hanging like a full-size plastic model from the facility’s ceiling for nearly 25 years has been downed again, this time by friendly action.

Discovered and deemed restorable in 1963—the full story behind that can be found on the PacificWrecks site (link)—the aircraft had originally been repatriated and returned to the ownership of the then Japan Defense Agency in January 1964. Following rapid restoration work carried out by personnel from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Oe Plant on site at Hamamatsu AB, the aircraft made its debut at the JASDF 10th anniversary show at Iruma in November that year.

After periods displayed at JASDF Hofu-Kita AB in 1965 and as part of a travelling aviation exhibition in the 1970s, the aircraft ended up back at Hamamatsu. Either by accident or design, the aircraft was thus well placed for permanent inclusion in the Air Park collection from October 1999, though the JMSDF Museum at Kanoya would have been a more fitting final destination.

The Zero flies top cover over the Air Park collection in September 2000, the year after its
opening. After nearly 25 years, its service ceiling has been drastically reduced to a new,
second floor-based role. Note the currently “missing” T-6F 010 on the right.
(Photo: 浜 松吉 via X @anticoACL)

Having collected dust over all those years, plans call for the Zero to be moved to a spot on the second floor, alongside the replica Italian Ansaldo SVA9 biplane that was likewise removed at the end of its cable contract in March 2022.

Both remain incongruously out of place in a facility that has of late been given over to an even greater degree to JASDF PR/recruitment purposes. Presumably the 1955-vintage T-34A that has been “airborne” since March 2000 will remain in situ for now.

While two JASDF-irrelevant exhibits take up valuable space, elsewhere at adjoining Hamamatsu AB, the eight JASDF aircraft evicted to make way for a Phantom and Blue Impulse T-4 are slowly deteriorating outside (See Bulletin Board stories January and April 21, 2021). Recent photos have shown a four-aircraft huddle: the H-19 and H-21 under blue tarps that add to their air of homelessness, while the cockpit canopies of both the T-1A, which appeared to be lacking its tailfin, and T-28 had been removed and black covers fitted to prevent rainwater ingress. Separately, the B65 and T-33A 71-5239 are both still sharing the same area of hard-standing (keeping long-term vagrant T-33A 71-5254 company), while the exact locations of the T-6F and Vampire are currently unknown. It could be wishful thinking that the latter two aircraft at least are accommodated in the on-base hangar storage promised at the time of their removal from the Air Park’s main exhibition hall.

T-33A 239 in happier times (above) with Iruma-based HQ Squadron in the mid-1990s and looking
sad at Hamamatsu as a typhoon approached in August 2023. During its time on display at the
Air Park the aircraft sported 33rd Sqn tail markings.
(Photos: [Top] GHOST via X @boy_816; [above] Area Kilo via X @area_kilo)

(Above and below) Information is being sought on the current whereabouts of these two aircraft,
last seen being taken away against their will at Hamamatsu early in 2021. Neither armed
nor dangerous (if cared for properly), there is concern for their well-being.
(Photos [Mar. 2021]: [Top] 浜 松吉 via X @anticoACL; [above] Tujimon via X @orapo960)

Meanwhile, to return to the subject of aircraft that have been in suspended animation for decades, it will be interesting to see how the formation dangling at the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum fits into the plans for next year’s renovation.

The Now Naturalized Virginian

The former JGSDF 21011, Fuji LM-1 N8020K at Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in
Weyers Cave, Virginia, April 2024.
(Photos: Chad Kennedy)

(June 2024) Website visitor Chad Kennedy kindly donated recent photos of one of the former JGSDF Fuji LM-1s that are still flying in the United States. More information can be found on the JGSDF Where Are They Now? page.

Any other updates and/or photos of former SDF aircraft, from wherever they might be, gratefully received!  

Singin’in the Rain

A photo of a UH-60JA taking a shower was used to publicize the JGSDF Takayubaru open day in
May. A display showing the facility in action has featured in past events at the base.
(Photo: JGSDF Takayubaru via X @takayubaru_avn)

(June 2024) Staying with the subject of usually unsung aircraft cleaning operations, one of the displays at JGSDF Takayubaru’s open base in May was of an 8th AvSqn UH-60JA in an automated spray facility. Essential for the removal of salt deposits after overwater operations, such facilities have been more associated with JMSDF base operations, where they are usually built into taxiways, but demand has obviously warranted the building of purpose-built structures for the JGSDF.

Earlier this year, Takayubaru featured its “helicopter hose down” in two videos, one (link) featuring a Chinook, the other (link) an Osprey visiting from Kisarazu. The former had been one of the aircraft deployed to fight forest fires in Etajima on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture in mid-January. As the Osprey fleet is due to be operated in support of amphibious forces, presumably a similar facility will be among those under construction at Saga Airport in preparation for next year’s move from Kisarazu.

Taken during Takayubaru’s open day in October 2022, a six-minute YouTube video (link) shows a Chinook, UH-60JA (with nose compartment taped up as a precaution), and an Osprey all receiving some spa treatment.

Jets of water from an underfloor system and from an overhead gantry guarantee the fuselage
receives a thorough hosing down. In the case of helicopters, the more delicate rotor blades
are then hosed down by hand. (Photo: JGSDF Takayubaru via X @takayubaru_avn)

Rain Check

(Image: JGSDF Takayubaru via X @takayubaru_avn)

(June 2024) One of the more unusual recent SDF videos places the viewer right there as a maintenance crew cleans the compressor of an AH-1S on a rainy day at JGSDF Hachinohe.

A meticulous process carried out after every 100 hours or so of flight time, the 45-second video, from which the above image was taken, can be viewed in its entirety here (link), but don’t expect too much action.

To inject some action into the piece . . . an AH-1S from the very same Hachinohe-based
2nd Anti-Tank Helicopter Squadron is displayed at the event that commemorated
the 68th anniversary of JGSDF Jinmachi, the home of the 6th AvSqn in
Yamagata Prefecture, in April 2019. (Photo: stone via Twitter @15dj)

Iruma Runway Walk 2024

(Image: JASDF/Iruma AB)

(June 2024)　This month, as part of its JASDF 70th anniversary celebrations, Iruma held Runway Walk 2024.

Under the COVID restrictions then in place, attendance at the two previous events had involved a lottery system limited to 1,000 people. This first fully open to the public version, which was blessed with good but very hot weather, attracted 22,000 people.

The base was open from 09:00 to 14:00, the main event of a 4km runway round trip being open to all comers at any time for three hours from 10:30; prior application would permit participation in a 30-minute Runway Run from 10:00. Although not a full air show, a variety of demonstrations and entertainments were held.

The entertainment included three somewhat one-sided “tug-of-war” sessions with an
effortlessly obstinate C-1, for which applications in advance were needed.
(Photo: F-2ファンブック via X @f4fanbook)

The event also permitted profiling of some of the usual suspects.

(Photo: F-2ファンブック via X @f4fanbook)

(Photo: Seiya Oobayashi via Facebook)

(Photo: のりvia X @noronori_1977)

Some way off piste, some visitors come across evidence of Iruma’s C-1 cull,
which is in its last stages. (Photo: M_a@729 via X @M_atsushi54)

For more information on the status of the YS-11 fleet at Iruma, see the March 2024 Bulletin
Board story. The YS-11 is also the latest addition to the JASDF Aircraft Roll Call page.
JASDF Aircraft Roll Call page. (Photo: aya01@長野県特地派遣隊 via X @aya01flt)

JASDF Retrospective: 40th Anniversary, 1994 (Part 1/2)

Taken at Iruma AB, a worm’s eye view of one of the six 1st Air Wing T-4s given a Blue Impulse-
influenced colour scheme in the JASDF’s 40th anniversary year, reprising a special
scheme that had been debuted at the 1993 Hamamatsu show.
(Photos: Akio Misawa [Main]: Iruma, c. Oct. 1994; [inset F-86F] Hyakuri, Nov. 1968)

(June 2024) In this the JASDF’s Platinum Anniversary year, J-HangarSpace offers the first part of a series that, in the coming months, will take a retrospective look at the colour schemes adopted for anniversary years since 1994.

The first to involve special anniversary markings, the official celebration for the air arm’s 1994 Ruby Jubilee was held in the autumn at Hyakuri AB. Training displays attended by the director-general of the then Japan Defense Agency and other dignitaries took place on October 1, 1994, the day before the air show. With the exception of one of the government B.747s, all types in service were represented for a total of 28 aircraft, including one recently withdrawn from active use T-33A. In all, 19 JASDF units produced a wide-ranging collection of designs throughout the year, in fact so many that details for this year need to be spread over two Bulletin Board reports. For the Hyakuri event, around 20 special marking aircraft were assembled in one place only for most of them to have the designs removed immediately afterwards.

Otherwise, the most extreme example was the Hamamatsu air show held in November 1994, when the two squadrons that still make up the 1st Air Wing each painted three of their T-4s in the so-called “Blue Dolphin” scheme that mimicked that of the Blue Impulse team. The idea was to increase awareness that Hamamatsu had been the home of a then unofficial JASDF team in October 1958, the location for the first Blue Impulse public display in March 1960, and the team’s base until 1981. Just for the record, this albeit blurry image (link) shows them all in flight for posterity, and this clearer photo ([link], exact date unknown) shows 06-5630 and ’639 on takeoff—again for the record, the others were 06-5634/637/638. Odd-numbered aircraft have traditionally been allocated to the 31st Sqn and those with even numbers to the 32nd Sqn. Note that the aircraft retained the thin red or blue, respectively, squadron identification stripes on their tails.

(Photo: GHOST via X @boy_816)

To represent the overseeing 1st Air Wing at Hamamatsu, 32nd Sqn T-4 06-5640 (above) was given a makeover that involved greying out the six of its nose serial number to accentuate the anniversary-matching number 40. The garish red underwing tank’s sharkmouth design looked a little out of place on an unarmed training aircraft. On the port-side tank the wording read from left to right, beginning with the same cursive script Anniversary and JASDF in the angle formed by the 40TH.

As would be expected, front-line types and squadrons were well represented. At that time, the 204th TFS had been flying the F-15J for just nine years. Adding to the artwork on display at the 204th’s Hyakuri home base, at least two aircraft were still carrying Mystic Eagle nose markings from the 1994 TAC Meet.

Photos show the cartoon-like “Eagle” design chosen for a 204th Sqn F-15J from the left (link) and right (link) sides. The latter photo also features an underwing tank decorated with the mirror-image lettering (here reading 40 JASDF Anniversary TH) often seen on anniversary schemes; it could be clearly read on the left side tank, when carried (link). What none of these show is the large repeat message applied to the upper surfaces of the wings (link).

(Photo [Tsuiki, Sept. 1994]: Chikara Matsuno)

The other representative F-15J was furnished by the 304th Sqn (above), which had officially debuted its contribution to proceedings at its home Tsuiki air show in September 1994. Evoking Tsuiki’s coastal location in its concept, there was a mix of blue sea and white clouds with grey gradations under its fuselage. On both sides, three leaping dolphins had been added around the nose serial number and on the engine intakes, and a spotted seal’s head was painted on the hinomaru. On the right side, a black F-15 silhouette was added on top of the 40th JASDF, which appeared in reverse (see photo below). A remnant from the 1994 TAC Meet markings, a grey lightning flash of the 8th Air Wing, dating back to the F-86F era, had been added to the Tengu tail marking. Hard to discern, the centreline tank appears to have an eagle design incorporating Tengu Fighters.

(Photo [Tsuiki, July 1994]: Takao Kadokami)

Having been retired the month before the Hyakuri air show in September 1994, former 305th Sqn T-33A 61-5206 was embellished and placed on static display adjacent to a car park (link). Eventually returned to the United States, there it would have served as the background of the first photo opportunity for visiting families. Painted next to the huge, hand-painted bird motif and JASDF 40TH ANNIVERSARY are the kanji for Musashi, the name of an ancient province around modern-day Tokyo and of a 17th century Japanese samurai. Part of the fuselage (link) was even given over to a few profound words of wisdom from the Plum Blossom Group, the nickname derived from the squadron tail marking of both the 305th Sqn and its forerunner the Starfighter-equipped (note the aircraft’s serial number) 206th Sqn. The story goes that in ancient China plum blossom—a suitably ancient literary word is used—would bloom when Emperor Wu was studying hard. The script draws the parallel between the good results produced by daily training and the achievements of the JASDF over the 40 years of its existence.

The undersides of the specially turned out 306th Sqn F-4EJKai
(Photo: Akio Misawa [Iruma, Oct. 1994])

For many, the show-stoppers of the 40th anniversary would have been the two Phantoms. In the case of the standard variant, a 306th Sqn F-4EJKai was chosen to act as representative. Unveiled at the 306th’s home Komatsu air show in September, 87-8404’s artwork underwent changes prior to the Hyakuri finale. Originally ([link] and photo below), the fuselage sides only had hinomaru, and the flat 40 on the tail was black. However, in between times SINCE [and] 1954～1994 appeared on either side of the fuselage formation light strip, a pale blue stripe extending along the fuselage was added, and the 40 (reversed on the starboard side [link]) shadowed in grey and edged in white. Not mounted at the Komatsu air show, the aircraft’s underwing tanks were decorated with the same tri-colour stripes and the 306th’s eagle’s head marking. The crew chief’s name J.SATOH was stencilled on to the air-conditioning intakes directly under the nose serial numbers (link). The cartoon characters on the engine splitter plates were Prince Pickles on the right side (link) and Miss Parsley (link), who were adopted by all three SDFs for recruitment purposes in the 1990s. Having ended its days in a standard low-viz colour scheme, this aircraft is preserved at Komatsu AB.

Two photos to illustrate the changes, mentioned in the text, to 404’s markings between the Komatsu
air show in September 1994 (above) and the following month’s Hyakuri air show.
(Photos: [Top] ひろKun via Twitter @kun71094249; [above] Akira Watanabe)

The 306th also provided T-4 36-5703, which featured a full-length blue dolphin design with that squadron’s own tail marking on one side (link) and that of its Komatsu neighbour the 303rd Sqn on the other (link). The dolphin theme was echoed in its standard grey and added white underside (link) and blue and white upper surface (link) designs. What few photos are available show a wide variety in hue of what was possibly cobalt blue. In addition to having Flying Dolphin inscriptions aft of its engine intake warning triangles, the aircraft had dolphin eyes and mouth and, when on static display, a dummy antenna in the shape of a dolphin’s dorsal fin.

The principal 501st delegate, black-tailed RF-4EJ 57-6376 decked out in full 40th anniversary
regalia. The fuselage banner (below) was held by the woodpecker of squadron marking fame,
dressed in a suit for the occasion, and the Phantom-associated Spook cartoon character,
both holding celebratory bouquets. The other underwing fuel tank carried the message
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASDF, also over blue, white and red horizontal gradations.(Photos: Akira Watanabe)

The 501st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron went overboard by pimping two of its rides. RF-4EJ 57-6376 (above) boasted red, white and gold ribbons flowing from a nose marking of a laurel wreath containing the letters RF on the left (link) and right (link) sides as well as extravagant banners in either side of its fuselage.

Emblematic of the JASDF’s 40-year history, the 501st Sqn’s venerable T-33A 81-5373 was decorated
with flowing ribbon bouquets on either side of the fuselage aft of the cockpit and wreaths containing
40 tail markings. The Japanese on the port wingtip tank appeared as “Thank you for bringing up the
many pilots” on the starboard tank (link). This aircraft also featured the SDF mascots Miss Parsley
([link] and in close-up [link] and Prince Pickles on the left and right fuselage sides, respectively,.
The close-up photo reveals the names of the six-man artwork team. 
(Top photo: Chikara Matsuno; above image Kotaken, from YouTube video shot at the
Hyakuri air show in October 1994 [link])

(Photo [Tsuiki, Sept. 1994]: Chikara Matsuno)

Making up the front-line contingent were two yellow-tailed F-1s (20-8260 seen above) fielded by the 6th TFS based at Tsuiki. Unveiled at the base’s air show that September, the tail marking comprised two black F-1s in plan-view speeding to protectively encircle a map of Japan. As per the marking, there were indeed two aircraft prepared in this comparatively simple colour scheme. On October 1, 00-8248 (link) had been present in one of the hangars at Hyakuri but the following day was unceremoniously flown straight back to base. It is thus possible that ’260 was merely a reserve aircraft.

[To be continued]

No Surprises at Shizuhama

As tradition dictates, Shizuhama 2024 opened with a formation flypast
of resident T-7s. (Photo: ラーズベリーズ via X @shidenkai301)

(May 2024) Anyone hoping to see the first examples of JASDF 70th anniversary markings at the Shizuhama air show would have been sadly disappointed.

Engaging in some telephoto-foreshortened barnstorming, a 31st Sqn T-4 flown all of
35 miles (60 km, as the crow flies) from Hamamatsu is put through its paces.
(Photo: naoki sudo via X @SudoNaokg3)

One of the smaller JASDF air bases, flying displays at Shizuhama largely rely on aircraft coming in from remote locations. Despite the promise of a Blue Impulse display on a day when the weather was forecast to be fair, the perennially low-key event attracted 25,000 visitors. Snapshots from the event can be found on Yaizu City’s website (link).

Booked to bring down the curtain at the Shizuhama show this year were two old stagers from the Air
Development & Test Wing at Gifu: (Above) The first F-15J, which marks the 44th anniversary of its
first flight on June 4, and the second F-2A prototype, which was first flown on December 13, 1995.
(Photos [both via X]: [Top] ぺんた @penta1019_fly; [above] ラーズベリーズ @shidenkai301)

The Shizuhama air show did provide one or two surprises towards the end of the T-3 era, back in the early 2000s, but not since the 2018 air show has an 11th FTW T-7 been decked out in any special markings, and even that was after a nine-year gap. In 2018, when there were around 30,000 visitors, Shizuhama AB’s 60th anniversary had coincided with the 10th anniversary of the merger of the town of Oigawa into the city of Yaizu. To mark the occasion, one of the aircraft was decorated with a slogan and cartoons on both sides of its fuselage (link) and, like most of the based aircraft, had at some stage had an anniversary sticker slapped either side of its nose. (See JASDF Squadron Histories Part 2).

This year, apparently the only aircraft sporting any form of celebratory marking was this lone T-7,
which would have been delivered to the JASDF in 2003, the year before the 50th anniversary.
Despite wearing an official 70th anniversary sticker, the sixth T-7 built was not looking
anywhere near ready to reach for the skies. (Photo: Tujimon via X @orapo960)

The recent track record at the Hofu-based 12th FTW, which hosts an air show on June 2, would appear to offer more grounds for optimism . . .

Postcript

(Photo: Daisuke Iwashita via Facebook)

At the Hofu-Kita air show, one standard 12th FTW T-7 (above) sported a specially designed 2024 Air Festa badge. Base sources reported that the event attracted a mere 8,000 visitors, 2,000 fewer than when COVID restrictions were in place. Before, depending on the weather and the Blue Impulse effect, attendance would range anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 people.

To mark that first F-15J flight, which took place from the McDonnell Douglas facility in
St. Loius on June 4, 1980, a photo of the aircraft when at Gifu in March 1981.
(Photo: 石川潤一Junichi Ishikawa via X @oldconnie)

Hien and Human Interest Interlude

Hien 6117, Yokota Army Airfield, late 1945 (Photo: Mitsuo Kawahara via Martin Wisner,
whose wife is the late Mitsuo Kawahara’s niece)

(May 2024) J-HangarSpace is indebted to Hawaii resident Martin Wisner for sending the image shown above of the Hien now displayed at the Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum in the early days of its captivity. From the bilingual book Hien 6117 Uncovered featured on the homepage, the location is in front of a barracks at Yokota Army Airfield, which following the formation of the U.S. Air Force was to officially become Yokota AB by late September 1947.

In itself a valuable addition to the timeline of the aircraft, this image comes complete with the interesting back story of the then 20-year-old photographer Mitsuo Kawahara (1925–2010), whose father had decided when in his teens in the 1890s to move from Kumamoto Prefecture to Hawaii.

To provide brief extracts from Kawahara-san’s memoirs, the seven-member Kawahara family was among the many of Japanese descent who witnessed Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Unlike their peers on the west coast of the United States, however, few on Hawaii were sent to internment camps. As second-generation Japanese of military service age, Kawahara-san’s two elder brothers served with the U.S. Army, one of them seeing combat in Europe. Kawahara-san himself was called up for basic training in April 1945 and was assigned to a team of interpreters sent by a circuitous route to the Philippines in July 1945. Having there played a key role in the repatriation of Japanese PoWs, the team was transferred to Japan in November 1945.

After arriving at Yokohama, the interpreting team was initially billeted at the head office of the NYK shipping company in downtown Tokyo. One of Kawahara-san’s assignments was to a U.S. Army Air Force Military Police unit given the daunting task of searching the crash sites of B-29s that had been lost in action over Tokyo.

Having elected to stay in Tokyo, Kawahara-san was in at the start of the development of Yokota Army Airfield, the name bestowed on what had previously been known to the U.S. military as Fussa Army Airfield. Now Corporal Kawahara worked in the engineering drafting room of Hazama Gumi, the contractor (today the Hazama Ando Corporation) where all plans for what was to become Yokota AB were prepared. As PoWs that had previously been in the construction industry were among those given priority for repatriation, there is a chance that Kawahara-san ended up working at the same company with former Japanese soldiers he had briefly met in the Philippines.

Also most likely taken at what was then Yokota Army Airfield, this photo shows Mitsuo Kawahara
standing on the remains of what appear to be a Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Sonia) while using the
tailplane of a Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Nick) fighter for balance. The 81 on the latter’s
tail might indicate an aircraft that had been assigned, like Hien 17, to the Air
Technical Evaluation Unit at Tama airfield. (Photo via Martin Wisner)

Returning to college studies after his Army discharge in 1947, Kawahara-san later switched from working in the civil engineering sector to retrain as an electrical engineer, in which capacity he worked in the aerospace industry, including for a time with North American in California.

Tsuiki Flights of Fancy 

The dual-purpose tail marking applied to the Tsuiki-based 6th TFS F-2B in 2014
commemorated the 60th anniversary of the JASDF on the left side and the 50th
anniversary of the 8th Air Wing on the right (link).
(See JASDF Squadron Histories Part 1) (Image from JASDF Tsuiki AB photo)

(April 2024) On a much needed lighter note after the previous story, Tsuiki AB’s request for members of the public to submit suggestions for 70th anniversary tail fin markings met with a very positive response. The base even took the unprecedented step of posting around 90 of the designs, some simple some elaborate, on a scrollable page on its website (link), a small selection of which is shown below.

(Image: Tsuiki AB via X @jasdf_tsuiki)

And a (potential) winner is . . . Of the designs shown on the Tsuiki AB website, this one stands out
for its colour choice and for the 8th Air Wing reference on the rudder. The design incorporates
the three units most associated with Tsuiki, the current resident 6th and 8th TFSs and the 304th
Sqn that after 38 years was relocated to Naha in 2016. Although the then U.S.-controlled base
was in at the start in 1954, it was not until 1957 that Tsuiki was handed over to the JASDF.

Elsewhere, the design for the 70th anniversary badge (see below) came too late to
be included on the poster for the Miho air show on May 26, which just bears
the motto “The beautiful sky and Miho AB together as one” (top right).

JMSDF Mourns Loss of Two Helicopter Crews

(Photo: JMSDF Public Affairs Office via X @JMSDF_PAO)

(April 2024) The major news story of the month was the loss of eight SH-60K crew members in what was later reported to have been a head-on collision at night over the Pacific Ocean on April 20. As per standard response, an immediate ban was imposed on all SH-60J/K training and non-essential flights.*

The aircraft had been taking part in a fleet evaluation review exercise, which involved eight ships and four other helicopters taking turns to track down a JMSDF submarine posing as a threat. The accident took place at 22:38, around 150 nautical miles (280 km) east of Torishima in the Izu island chain, which itself lies about 600 km south of Tokyo. 

A press release issued by the Naval Air Staff on April 24 stated that the aircraft had been captained by Lt. Cdr. Takuya Matsuda (8416, from the 22nd FAS based at Omura) and Lt. Cdr. Kasugi Itamura (8443, 24th FAS at Komatsushima). Although the body of Lt. Cdr. Matsuda’s co-pilot Lt. Yūki Nishihata was recovered, despite an extensive search operation the other seven crew members had to remain listed as missing.

The two flight recorders and shattered fragments of the aircraft and sections of rotor blade were retrieved from the ocean. As the main parts of the aircraft will have sunk to the seabed, which there extends down to around 18,000 feet (5,500 m), the JMSDF’s Yokosuka-based oceanographic research vessel Shōnan was summoned and commenced search operations on April 27. The day before, 10 ships and five aircraft from the JMSDF and Japan Coast Guard had been engaged in search operations; a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had also been assisting the airborne assets.

Three years ago, a very similar incident during nighttime training had prompted a response that had included the installation of collision-avoidance equipment. At around 22:30 on July 19, 2021, helicopters operating from the destroyer Kirisame and helicopter carrier Kaga had touched rotors around 300 km east of Amami-Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture. Very fortunate in having only suffered rotor blade damage, both aircraft had been able to land back aboard the Kaga.

* Single-aircraft training flights recommenced May 3, 2024.

Postscript The two aircraft had been operating from the destroyer Suzunami, with another from the helicopter carrier Ise airborne at the same time.

Announced by Defense Minister Minoru Kihara on July 9, 2024, the results of an investigation into the collision cited insufficient communications and information sharing between the mother ship and the helicopters, between the helicopters and within each crew as well as improper lookout by the crews. One aircraft flying in a straight-line had struck the left side of the other aircraft, which was performing a clockwise turn. For some reason, new guidelines introduced after the fortunately non-fatal nighttime incident in July 2021 had not been adhered to.

Daytime operations of pairs of aircraft were recommenced on July 9, 2024, when a gradual return to nighttime operations was to be made.

(Photo: SDF Gunma Public Cooperation Office via X @gunma_pco)

JASDF 70th Anniversary Logo Unveiled

(Image: JASDF Public Affairs Office via X @JASDF_PAO)

(April 5, 2024) Three months before the July 1 official date, the JASDF has revealed the design for its 70th anniversary logo, which in sticker form will be applied to certain of its aircraft during the coming months.

The design and the official motto—大空とその先へ (To the Sky and Beyond)—reflect the formation of a Space Operations Group in March 2022. The four blue dots on the map of Japan indicate the locations of the four regional Air Defense Force headquarters: Northern (Misawa, Aomori Prefecture); Central (Iruma, Saitama); Western (Kasuga, Fukuoka); and Southwestern (Naha, Okinawa).

Electronic Hardware Update

A moisture-laden day at Iruma AB causes YS-11EB 82-1155 to generate propeller tip vortices during
its takeoff run. This 55-year-old aircraft took part in a major training exercise in November 2023
and was still in service last month. (Photo [undated]: のりvia X @norinori_1977)

(March 2024) Research for an update of the second JASDF Where Are They Now? page revealed the current status of the Iruma-based YS-11EAs/EBs, all that remain of what was once a 13-aircraft multi-role fleet.

As shown in the accompanying photos, three of the four YS-11EB electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft are still flying; the fourth (92-1157) was being cannibalized for parts in October 2022 (link).

First flown on May 11, 1971, as a standard transport version, YS-11EB 12-1161 reportedly
underwent an inspect and repair as necessary (IRAN) check at NIPPI Corporation’s
Atsugi facility late in 2023. (Photo [Mar. 2020]: けいたろう via X @Keit4ro)

YS-11EB 02-1159 taxying at Iruma in February 2024. First flown as a YS-11A transport on
September 8, 1970, this aircraft was converted to YS-11P standard in 1989 before making its
first flight as a YS-11EB on January 16, 1996. (Photo: きつねゆうき via X @kitune_yuki02)

Operated alongside the RC-2 in the Electronic Intelligence Squadron, reports state that the last of the EBs are likely to remain in service until as late as 2027, when in view of their mission they are unlikely to be considered candidates for preservation. Until the programme was cancelled in February 2023, the Mitsubishi SpaceJet was being proudly touted as the home-grown natural successor to the YS-11, not only as a regional airliner but also for potential conversion for military operations. A second RC-2 conversion has been included in the fiscal 2024 budget, but the Ministry of Defense might still consider supplementing its RC-2 operations with a smaller aircraft.

The two YS-11EAs taxy out to the takeoff point at Iruma in their more active days.
(Photo [undated]: こすもvia Twitter @COSMO_IRUMA)

It would appear that the two YS-11EA electronic warfare (EW) training aircraft (12-1162 and 163), have largely been kept in non-flying open storage with their props removed since at least June 2023, leaving the EC-1 as the Electronic Warfare Squadron’s sole aircraft. For the sake of appearances, 163 at least had had its props refitted and even the new helmeted crow emblem (link) of the Electronic Tactics Group, which is in command of both squadrons, placed on its tail in time for Prime Minister Kishida’s JASDF review visit in November 2023; 162 was carrying the new marking in February this year.*

The details of its intelligence-gathering missions naturally shrouded in secrecy, a YS-11EB lands
back at Iruma under a cloak of semi-darkness. (Photo [Sept. 2023]: のりvia X @norinori_1977)

* On the subject of new tail markings, the 401st Airlift Sqn unveiled its lion’s head marking at this month’s Komaki Open Base event (see JASDF Squadron Histories Part 2 page).

SH-60K Retirement As Production Nears End

An image from a short JMSDF video (link) entitled SH-60K 8410 Decommissioning Ceremony
(Video [posted Feb. 14, 2024]: JMSDF 1st Fleet Air Wing via X @jmsdf_1aw)

(February 2024) On February 13, JMSDF Kanoya held the decommissioning ceremony for SH-60K 8410, while at manufacturer Mitsubishi’s Nagoya plant the last examples of the type are being flight tested. The 81st and last production example is due to be delivered by the end of next month.

Delivered on June 12, 2006, initially to 121st Fleet Air Sqn, 8410 went on to serve with 21st FAS, the 211th Air Training Sqn (ATS), and the 22nd and 23rd FASs before ending its career with the 212th ATS at Kanoya. In those 17 years and seven months, the airframe logged 6,200 flight hours and, though reduced in the ranks, rather than being put out to grass will now likely continue to provide service as an instructional airframe.

See the JMSDF Aircraft Roll Call page for information on the SH-60K programme.

You’re next? The third aircraft built but first production SH-60K 8403 was still in service
with the Ohmura-based 22nd FAS in October 2022, when this photo was taken.
(Photo: こぶた via Twitter @kobuta_THOMAS)

New Book Review

Guidebook on Aircraft Preserved/Displayed in Japan

(February 2024) The text on the obi band around the cover of this handy, pocket-sized guidebook, which easily evaded the J-HangarSpace radar late last year, trumpets the scope of its coverage: more than 600 aircraft in 250 locations.

That band carries a photo of the Hien exhibited at the Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum, while the cover itself is of the ex-Blue Impulse F-86F displayed on a pole outside the JASDF Air Park at Hamamatsu AB.

This F-1 remains visible from the road at the former site of Japan’s first racing car museum, the
Racing Palace in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, which closed its doors after nine years in 2005.
(Photo [posted Apr. 2023]: マイテイvia X [formerly Twitter] @mighty0715)

From Ikaros, the publisher of JWings magazine, one of the book’s three compilers is Shunsuke Yamamoto, the “Withdrawn from Use Aircraft Hunter”, whose dedicated site is accessible via the three SDF Links on the right-hand column of this website.

As you would expect, containing a lot more than just a list of aircraft and locations, the book is divided into five main sections:

• Anecdotes about six aircraft, two being those depicted on the cover/band
• Locations where aircraft are to be found
• 101 pages of aircraft/location information, broken down into 11 geographic areas with maps and colour photos a-plenty
• For those who need it, advice on how to view and enjoy displayed aircraft
• Overviews of surviving Army/Navy and former SDF aircraft by type with numbers and (where space permits) locations

Tachikawa moved its ex-JGSDF L-19E-2 close to the tower for the garrison’s 50th anniversary in
October 2023. (Photo: Takayuki Noto/Aireview via X [formerly Twitter] @armii93881392)

Interspersed between chapters are columns on a variety of related topics, including replicas, and an index by aircraft designation is also usefully provided to have all the content bases covered.

Although J-HangarSpace attempts to keep the three Where Are They Now? sections reasonably up to date in terms of their information, the guidebook goes several extra miles in terms of content and technology by providing GPS coordinates and QR codes enabling travel book-style access to satellite images of locations from the comfort of your sofa.

All in all, a well-spent 2,200 yen (including tax).

As evidenced by this wonderful S2F-1 Tracker, the collection at the JMSDF’s Kanoya AB Museum
is sadly showing the ravages of too many years spent exposed to the elements.
(Photo [posted Oct. 2022]: 麗一美 via X [formerly Twitter] @ShioKroom7114)

One of the more recent facilities to open its doors, the soraKasai museum in Kasai, Hyogo
Prefecture, features full-size replicas of a Shiden-Kai (George) Navy fighter and a B5N
(Kate) carrier-based torpedo bomber forming the centrepiece of its interior display.
(Photo: エイトボール商会 via X [formerly Twitter] @eightballshokai)

JASDF’s 70th Anniversary Year Commences

A decade ago, three of the 13 aircraft that were given special markings for the
JASDF’s Diamond Jubilee were T-4s, like this one from the 32nd Sqn.
(Photo [Hamamatsu, October 2014]: Andy Binks)

(January 2024) A important date on this year’s calendar will be the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces on July 1. As its sister services use the founding years of forerunner services as their starting points—1950 for the JGSDF, 1952 for the JMSDF—the field will be largely left open for the JASDF to organize public events and display aircraft marked specially for the occasion through to the end of the air show season in December.

This tradition only seemed to start in earnest with the 40th anniversary in 1994, when 25 examples of 18 types of aircraft underwent special treatment. Back in 1984, when the service had received its first C-130H Hercules and deliveries of F-15J Eagles and E-2C Hawkeyes were ongoing, apparently no thought had been given to marking the historic milestone in such a way. At that time, even the markings added to fighters competing in the annual tactical air combat (TAC) meets tended to be a lot more subdued than in later years. YouTube footage of the JASDF Central Band on tour in 1984 shows them being transported from gig to gig in a standard YS-11 that, with a bit of forethought, could easily have served as a flying PR/promo billboard.

At the September 2003 Misawa airshow, a resident 8th TFS F-4EJKaiwas given a unique “JASDF
pre-50th” anniversary scheme. A rare photo of this aircraft in flight can be found here (link)
and profiles showing its boldly ornate Aomori Nebuta Festival-inspired scheme here (link).
(Photo: Hajime Ishihara, used for Platz plastic model box art)

Not that all units will be going overboard on special colour schemes this year. Following the special marking bonanza, involving no less than 41 aircraft of 23 types, that accompanied the 50th anniversary, the 60th anniversary was a far more muted affair, when commemorative markings were applied to only 13 aircraft of six types; none of those were support or rescue aircraft. Many other aircraft were simply awarded the somewhat cheaper and less labour-intensive alternative of an anniversary sticker.

If past precedence from JASDF reviews is anything to go by, in the case of those types that are more extensively used, generally one squadron might be selected to provide a representative aircraft. Even with that limitation, there should be some interesting off-beat bordering on the gaudy schemes applied in the coming months.

Those aircraft that remain in standard schemes will likely be given an anniversary
sticker as a consolation prize, like this 11th FTW T-3 was way back in 2004.
(Photo: マイテイ via X [formerly Twitter] @mighty0715)

Postscript On March 1, Tsuiki AB put out a broad-brushed website call to any artistic members of the public to submit commemorative design proposals for F-2 tail artwork within three weeks. (Likewise marking its 70th anniversary, the base was actually still under U.S. control in 1954 and was to remain so until 1957.) In addition to rules and regulations, the website notices included an A4 template to facilitate the electronic submission of entries (wisely limited to one per person), the one winning design of which will adorn both sides of an F-2’s tailfin.

“Sharon” the F-2 Pilot

(January 2024) The cover of and a two-page article in the current (February) issue of Kōkū Fan magazine feature 1st Lt Misaki Mizukoshi, who currently holds the position of being the sole JASDF woman F-2 pilot.

As the upper echelons recognize the importance of working to advance and expand their roles in general in the SDFs, women currently account for 8.3% of all SDF personnel compared with around 5% a decade ago, and the JASDF is targeting 10% in the near future.

(Photo [posted Nov. 2023]: 金色の妖精 via X [formerly Twitter] @kinironoyosei)

In 2015, the restriction on women serving in potential front-line capacities was lifted, opening the way for them to follow careers as JMSDF submariners and, still with certain restrictions, JGSDF artillery and armoured units. In the case of the JASDF, the first woman fighter pilot Misa Matsushima was cleared on the F-15J in 2018 (see Bulletin Board report dated August 14, 2018), 21 years after the first woman transport pilot Kazue Kashiji, who went on to become the first JASDF woman flight instructor in May 2003. There are currently four women flying the F-15J, so it is likely only a matter of time before another woman pilot joins an F-2 unit.

As reported on The Fuji Sankei news media website, the story goes that Mizukoshi had already been about to enroll at a university to study physiotherapy when a friend showing her a Blue Impulse video led to a major change of course. Initially, she had taken the JMSDF entrance exam during her third year at university, but the policy change in 2015 having coincided with her graduation, she decided to jump ship from the JMSDF and pursue the newly opened JASDF option.

Of her intake at the JASDF Officer Candidate School at Nara AB, in her home prefecture, Mizukoshi was the only woman on the pilot stream. Although more were to follow, she was the only one with her sights set on the F-2. Remaining undeterred after having been told during the earlier stages of her training that there are three times more things to learn on an F-2, she admits to the aircraft (not surprisingly) being more difficult to fly than any other aircraft she had flown.

Having been awarded her wings following the standard T-7 and T-4 training sequence, 27-year-old Mizukoshi had first encountered the F-2 with the 21st Sqn at Matsushima. Currently assigned to the 8th TFS at Tsuiki AB, she exchanged joystick for a mike as commentator of the F-2 display at the base’s airshow in December.

(Photo: JASDF Tsuiki AB via X [formerly Twitter] @jasdf_tsuiki)

Why Sharon? Every other 8th TFS pilot has a type of drink as his TAC name. As a fan of the Detective Conan manga and anime series, Mizukoshi had apparently suggested Berumotto (Vermouth) but changed to that character’s other, more radio-friendly name Sharon (from Sharon Vineyard).

A video (with transcript) from a local Fukuoka TV channel news report about 1st Lt Mizukoshi can be viewed here (link).

(Photo: ぬま@MCV大好きお兄さんvia X [formerly Twitter] @numa227red_wing)

JAL Miracle, JCG Tragedy at Haneda

(January 2024) The day after the New Year’s Day Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the  scenes from the disaster-affected areas were being regularly interspersed with footage showing the moment of impact in a major aviation accident that took place that evening at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport.

The positive side of the story involved the 379 passengers and crew on board a landing JAL Airbus A350 who had miraculously managed to evacuate after colliding with a Japan Coast Guard Bombardier Dash 8 that was about to depart. The tragic side of the story was that five of the six-man JCG crew lost their lives; 39-year-old pilot Genki Miyamoto was the sole survivor.

Early investigations into how the JCG pilots could have erred when departing the familiarity of their home base focused on the communications between air traffic control and the pilots and the possibility of faulty runway lighting.

The names of the deceased were given as co-pilot Noboyuki Tahara (aged 41), radio operator Yoshiki Ishida (27), search radar operator Wataru Tatewaki (39), and mechanics Shigeaki Katō (56) and Makoto Uno (47).

Perhaps, in the fullness of time, a monument will be erected in their honour at Haneda.

In March 2011, the aircraft lost in the collision had been undergoing maintenance at Sendai when inundated by the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake. On this occasion, the mission had been to assist the Noto disaster relief operations by airlifting supplies to Niigata.

The front page of The Asahi Shimbun for January 3 carries the two tragic stories of the day side by
side on an inside page. The fatalities from the Haneda accident were soon confirmed, but at
that time the known death toll from the earthquake was 48, a figure was to rise
to 238, with 19 still unaccounted for, by the end of the month.
(Photo: Kannami via X (formerly Twitter) @7je129zuikaku)

Noto Peninsula Earthquake: SDF Initial Responses

A Niigata Air Rescue Squadron UH-60J crew returns to base at 6 p.m. after an
11-hour day of disaster relief-related operations.
(Photo [posted Jan. 4, 2024]: JASDF/Niigata Sub-Base via X [formerly Twitter] @jasdf_niigata)

(January 2024) The New Year was only 16 hours and 10 minutes old in Japan when a massive earthquake struck off Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula. Another 35 minutes passed before the prefectural governor placed a formal request for disaster assistance with the JGSDF’s 10th Division at Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, which resulted in a 10,000-strong Joint Task Force being formed the following day.

On January 2, the initial SDF rapid response involved 2,000 personnel, 33 aircraft and eight ships. Ministry of Defense press release reported the saving of 89 lives and provided statistics for the amount of disaster supplies provided. A total of 34 liaison officers (LOs) having been dispatched to 12 locations to conduct information-gathering activities, other operations involved the supply of drinking water and road clearance on some sections of three prefectural roads in the area.

JGSDF and local JASDF personnel parade before departure on a water supply operation at
Komatsu, which also served as a hub for the operations of prefectural disaster-relief and
EMS as well as Japan Coast Guard helicopters.
(Photo [posted Jan. 3]: JASDF/Komatsu AB via X [formerly Twitter] @jasdf_komatsu)

On January 3, operations were divided into five specific areas. Priority lifesaving operations involved search missions and included the airlift of six injured to JGSDF Kanazawa garrison by a UH-60J crew from the Niigata Air Rescue Squadron. Airlift support was provided by a JGSDF Central Army Aviation Group UH-1J, used to provide drinking water and other disaster supplies to the city hall in Wajima, one of the worst affected areas, and SH-60Js from the destroyers Asagiri and Suzunami. Road-clearing operations and the provision of drinking water supplies were the responsibility of JGSDF elements, in the latter case with assistance from Komatsu-based 6th Air Wing personnel. Damage assessment information-gathering flights were mounted by a 3rd Fleet Air Sqn P-1 from Atsugi.

On January 4, the government more than doubled the number of SDF personnel deployed to the disaster-stricken areas to 4,600, and the JTF rescued 117 people the following day.

JGSDF troops hurry to offload materials needed for urgent road
reconstruction work from a JMSDF SH-60K.
(Photo [posted Jan. 19]: JMSDF/21st Fleet Air Wing via X [formerly Twitter] @jmsdf_21aw)