Japan
Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.
Population: 127.5 million (22.4 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 239,900 (estimate)
Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
Voluntary recruitment age: 18
Voting age: 20
Optional Protocol: ratified 2 August 2004
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, ILO 138, ILO 182
There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces. Fifteen year olds may become youth cadets but are never deployed.
Context
In June 2003, parliament passed three war contingency laws that give the government increased powers in military emergencies. After two years of debate, their adoption was driven by heightened concern over the possibility of attack by North Korea. Japan's well financed and technologically advanced armed forces are constitutionally a defensive force, barred from involvement in international disputes.1 However, in February 2004 the first troops of a contingent of 1,000 army personnel left for Iraq. The Japanese public were deeply divided over the country's first military mission in nearly six decades.2
Government
National recruitment legislation
The 1947 constitution states that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes ... land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The rights of belligerency of the state will not be recognized" (Article 9).3 In 1954, the Self Defence Forces were established to defend against invasion and to maintain the peace, independence and security of Japan.
There is no conscription. Japan reported to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2003 that "Except for educational institutions (youth cadet programmes), only those who are 18 years old or over can apply and be recruited into the Self-Defence Forces (Enforcement Regulations of the Self-Defence Forces Law, art. 25, and Instructions for Assignment of Youth Cadets)". The report then states that the measures taken to verify applicants' dates of birth are to ensure that "Japan refrains from recruiting any person who has not reached 15 years of age and from allowing them to participate directly in hostilities".4
In 2004 the Japanese authorities clarified that "The [Self Defence Forces] cadets are aged between 15 and 17 and are adopted as members of Self-Defence Forces to be trained as military, naval, or air force special communications engineers, etc. They are never sent to operational forces, but have classes of basic training on various aspects of engineering work, such as communication, in addition to those given in regular high schools based on the national curriculum".5
Military training and military schools
Youth cadets from the age of 15 receive secondary school education, basic military training and training to become technical specialists in the armed forces.6
About 2,000 cadets attend the National Defence Academy, an institution of the Japan Defence Agency. The emphasis is on academic education: most of the teaching staff are civilians, and university level degrees may be taken in sciences, engineering and social sciences. Cadets may study defence sciences. They receive basic military training for two hours a week and during an annual six-week course. They are expected to become armed forces officers, and further military training is provided after graduation at Officer Candidate Schools.7
Other developments
International standards
In its 2003 report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Japan outlined measures it had taken in support of the protection of children in armed conflict and the reintegration of former child soldiers. These included hosting international conferences and workshops in November 1998 and November 2000, and providing development assistance for child victims of armed conflict, for example for school reconstruction in Kosovo in May 2000 and East Timor in July 2000.8
Japan ratified the Optional Protocol in August 2004. Its declaration on ratification stated that "The Government of Japan, by relevant laws and regulations, recruits only those who are at and above the minimum age of 18 as a member of the Japan Self-Defence Forces, with the exception of ... students solely receiving educational training at the schools within the structure of the Japan Self-Defence Forces ( hereinafter referred to as "the Youth Cadets"), which come under "schools" stipulated in Article 3, paragraph 5 of the Optional Protocol."9
1 Howard W. French, "Japan adopts laws expanding military powers", New York Times, 7 June 2003.
2 T. Aizawa, "Main Japan army contingent leaves for Iraq", Reuters, 3 February 2004.
3 Constitution, at International Constitutional Law, http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/index.html.
4 Second periodic report of Japan to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/104/Add.2, 24 July 2003, http://www.ohchr.org.
5 Letter to Child Soldiers Coalition from embassy of Japan, London, 25 February 2004.
6 Initial report of Japan to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/41/Add.1, 5 August 1996.
7 National Defence Academy, http://www.nda. ac.jp.
8 Second periodic report to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, op. cit.
9 Declaration of Japan on ratification of the Optional Protocol, http://untreaty.un.org (subscription required).
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