Okinawa's Self-Defense Forces Change Communal Living From Shared Rooms to a Focus on Privacy as They Try to Attract Young Recruits

沖縄タイムス＋プラス

Factuality

Ownership

As Japan's birthrate rapidly declines, the Self-Defense Forces are facing a serious manpower shortage. In recent years, the national recruitment rate for Self-Defense Force officer candidates and non-commissioned officer candidates, the main recruitment routes, has not met the planned rate. While Okinawa Prefecture has "relatively been able to secure personnel" (according to a Self-Defense Forces official), creating an environment where young pe…