Japanese State Navy

Japanese State Navy
日本国海軍
Flag of the Japanese State Navy (Ensign)
Founded	3 May 1947 (1947-05-03)
Country	Japan
Type	Navy
Role	Maritime warfare
Size	75,884 personnel 176 ships
Part of	Japanese Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Navy Blue and White
March	Gunkan March  Play
Fleet	3 aircraft carriers 6 helicopter carriers 6 amphibious transport docks 12 frigates 32 destroyers 45 minesweepers 24 submarines
Website	http://www.mod.go.jp/af
Commanders
Prime Minister of Japan	PM Kazuma Amamiya
Minister of Defense	Tourei Saito
Chief of Staff, Joint Staff	General
Chief of Staff, Naval Staff	Admiral

The Japanese State Navy (日本国海軍, Nippon-koku Kaigun), also referred to as the Japanese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the Japanese Armed Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan and Japanese interests. The Japanese Navy is the result of the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) after World War II. The Japanese Navy has a fleet of 176 ships and 445 aircraft and consists of approximately 75,800 personnel. Its main tasks are to maintain control of the nation's sea lanes and to patrol territorial waters.

History

Origin

Main Article: Naval history of Japan

File:DanNoUra.jpg

Naval battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185

Japan has a long history of naval interaction with the Asian continent, involving the transportation of troops, starting at least with the beginning of the Kofun period in the 3rd century. Following the attempts at Mongol invasions of Japan by Kublai Khan in 1274 and 1281, Japanese wakō became very active in plundering the coast of the Qing Empire.

A 16th-century Japanese atakebune coastal warship

Japan undertook major naval building efforts in the 16th century, during the Warring States period, when feudal rulers vying for supremacy built vast coastal navies of several hundred ships. Around that time, Japan may have developed one of the world's first ironclad warships, when Oda Nobunaga (a Japanese daimyō) had six iron-covered Oatakebune made in 1576.

In 1588, Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued a ban on Wakō piracy; the pirates then became vassals of Hideyoshi and comprised the naval force used in the Japanese invasion of Korea.

Japan built her first large ocean-going warships in the beginning of the 17th century, following contact with European countries during the Nanban trade period. In 1613, the daimyō of Sendai, in agreement with the Tokugawa shogunate, built Date Maru. This 500 ton galleon-type ship transported the Japanese embassy of Hasekura Tsunenaga to the Americas and Europe. From 1604 onwards, about 350 Red seal ships, usually armed and incorporating European technology, were also commissioned by the shogunate, mainly for Southeast Asian trade.

Imperial Japanese Navy

Main Article: Imperial Japanese Navy

The British-built Ryūjō was the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy until 1881.

From 1868, the restored Meiji Emperor continued with reforms to industrialize and militarize Japan to prevent the United States and European powers from overwhelming it. On 17 January 1868, the Ministry of Military Affairs was established, with Iwakura Tomomi, Shimazu Tadayoshi and Prince Komatsu-no-miya Akihito as the First Secretaries.

On 26 March 1868, the first Naval Review was held in Japan (in Osaka Bay), with six ships from the private domainal navies of Saga, Chōshū, Satsuma, Kurume, Kumamoto and Hiroshima participating. The total tonnage of these ships was 2,252 tons, far smaller than the tonnage of the single foreign vessel (from the French Navy) that also participated. In July 1869, the Imperial Japanese Navy was formally established, two months after the last military engagement of the Boshin War – the private navies of the Japanese nobles were abolished and their 11 ships were added to the 7 surviving vessels of the defunct Tokugawa bakufu navy, including Kankō Maru, Japan's first steam warship. This formed the core of the new Imperial Japanese Navy.

An 1872 edict officially separated the Japanese Navy from the Japanese Army. Politicians like Enomoto Takeaki set out to use the Navy to expand to the islands south of Japan in similar fashion to the Army's northern and western expansion. The Navy sought to upgrade its fleet to a blue water navy and used cruises to expand the Japanese consciousness on the southern islands. Enomoto's policies helped the Navy expand and incorporate many different islands into the Japanese Empire, including Iwo Jima in 1889. The navy continued to expand and incorporate political influence throughout the early twentieth century.

The Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 marks the emergence of Japan as a major military power. Japan demonstrated that it could apply Western technology, discipline, strategy, and tactics effectively. The war concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth. The complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers. The consequences transformed the balance of power in East Asia.

World War I

Hōshō, the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier in the world (1922)

The Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya conducted the world's first successful naval-launched air raids on 5 September 1914 and during the first months of World War I from Kiaochow Bay off Tsingtao. On 6 September 1914 the very first air-sea battle in history took place when a Farman aircraft launched by Wakamiya attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth and the German gunboat Jaguar off Tsingtao. Four seaplanes bombarded German land targets. The Germans surrendered on 6 November 1914.

In 1921, during the Interwar period, Japan developed and launched the Hōshō, which was the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier in the world. Japan subsequently developed a fleet of aircraft carriers that was second to none except the United States and possibly Britain.

Capabilities

The Japanese Navy has an officially budgeted strength of 75,000 personnel, but presently numbers around 75,880 active personnel.

As a result of continuing effective defense investment due to Japan's economic development and an end to the Cold War, the Japanese Navy is currently the world's fourth largest naval power. Japan has the eighth largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, and the JSN is responsible for protecting this large area. As an island nation, dependent on maritime trade for the majority of its resources, including food and raw materials, maritime operations are a very important aspect of Japanese defense policy.

The Japanese Navy is known in particular for its anti-submarine warfare and minesweeping capabilities. Defense planners believe the most effective approach to combating hostile submarines entails mobilizing all available weapons, including surface combatants, submarines, patrol planes, and helicopters. They are also known to operate at least fourteen listening stations all over the country that have ELINT and marine surveillance radar warning systems.

The Japanese Navy has built on the IJN's naval aviation heritage and maintains a Naval Air Fleet to provide air cover for carrier groups at sea. Air wings, based on its three carriers, along with destroyers and frigates equipped with the Aegis combat system provide a formidable capability in antiaircraft and antimissile warfare. These capabilities are force multipliers, allowing force projection of Japan's sizable naval force far from home waters.

Equipment

Ships and submarines

Japanese Naval ships use the ship prefix JSN (Japanese State Navy). As of 2014, the JSN operates a total of 176 ships (excluding minor auxiliary vessels), including: three aircraft carriers, six helicopter carriers (called helicopter destroyers), 32 destroyers, 12 small destroyers (or frigates), 24 attack submarines, 45 mine countermeasure vessels, ten patrol vessels, six landing ship tanks, ten training vessels and a fleet of various auxiliary ships. The fleet has a total displacement of approximately 750,000 tonnes (including auxiliary vessels).

Aircraft

See also: Japanese State Navy Fleet Air Force

The Japanese State Navy Fleet Air Force maintains a large naval air force, including 275 fixed-wing aircraft and 170 helicopters. Most of these aircraft are used in anti-submarine warfare operations.

Aircraft	Role	Versions	Quantity	Note
Fixed-wing aircraft
Mitsubishi F-3S Zero II	Multi-Role	F-3S	152	On Order
Overstars P-3 Orion	Maritime patrol ELINT Optical reconnaissance Equipment test Electronic warfare trainer	P-3C EP-3C OP-3C UP-3C UP-3D	77 8 9 1 5
Kawasaki P-1	Maritime patrol	P-1	18	Planned to replace the Overstars P-3C Orion. 110 on order.
KC-130 Hercules	Utility transport	C-130R	12	Re entered into service since 2013.
Learjet 35	Utility aircraft	U-36A	6
Beechcraft King Air	Utility aircraft/Liaison Trainer aircraft	LC-90 TC-90	5 28
Fuji T-5	Trainer aircraft	T-5	36
ShinMaywa US-1	Search and rescue	US-1A	1
ShinMaywa US-2	Search and rescue	US-2	5	Replacing the older US-1A.
Helicopters
Mitsubishi SH-60	Maritime helicopter	UH-60J SH-60J SH-60K	15 58 70	Search and rescue. Anti-submarine warfare. Anti-submarine warfare.
AgustaWestland AW101	Minesweeping helicopter Utility helicopter	MCH-101 CH-101	20 2	For icebreaker AGB-5003.
Eurocopter EC 135	Trainer helicopter	TH-135	15

• 

  JSN AKagi and JSN Myoko

• 

  Kawasaki P-1 with its Sierran equivalent, the Boeing P-8 Poseidon

• 

  A Mitsubishi SH-60 from JSN Chōkai lands on board JSN Maya

• 

  MV-22B landing aboard JSN Tsugaru

• 

  JS Hayabusa visiting Guam in 2013

Organization and Structure

Fleet Headquarters. Yokosuka.

Tokiwa (left) and Yayoi (right) at the Port of Shimizu

Kisaragi returning from RIMPAC '98

SH-60J in Okadama Air Base

Naval Station Kure District Headquarters

The Japanese Navy is commanded by the Chief of the Naval Staff. Its structure consists of the Naval Staff Office, the Western Fleet, the Northern Fleet, the Southern Fleet, six regional district commands within the fleets, the Naval Aviation Office, the air-training squadron and various support units, such as hospitals and schools. The Naval Staff Office, located in Tokyo, serves the Chief of Staff in commanding and supervising the force.

The Northern Fleet, headquartered at Ominato Naval Station in Mutsu, Aomori; the Western Fleet, headquartered at Sasebo Naval Station in Sasebo, Nagasaki; and the Eastern Fleet, headquartered at Yokosuka Naval Station in Yokosuka contain the Navy's surface forces and submarine forces. They are composed of the Fleet Surface Forces, the Fleet Air Force headquartered at Atsugi, the Fleet Submarine Forces based at Yokosuka and Kure, Hiroshima, Mine Warfare Force based at Yokosuka, and the Fleet Training Command at Yokosuka.

The surface fleets are organized into three carrier strike groups and six multi-mission forces. Each carrier strike group is formed of an aircraft carrier and two escort squadrons; escort squadrons are formed of one guided-missile destroyer (DDG), two standard or ASW destroyers (DD), and a frigate escort (DE). Each multi-mission force is composed of one helicopter destroyer (DDH) acting as a command ship, one guided-missile destroyer (DDG), and two standard or ASW destroyers (DD).

• Prime Minister of Japan
  • Minister of Defense
    • Naval Chief of Staff / Naval Staff Office
      • Northern Fleet - NS Ominato
        • Fleet Surface Force
          • Shoukaku Strike Group (NS Ominato)
            • CVN-51 JSN Shoukaku
            • Northern Escort Squadron 1 - DDG-401 JSN Mutsuki, DD-422 JSN Asakaze, DD-414 JSN Yukikaze, DE-52 JSN Arakawa, DE-53 JSN Iwaki
            • Northern Escort Squadron 2 - DDG-404 JSN Uzuki, DD-421 JSN Karukaze, DD-418 JSN Isokaze, DE-54 JSN Koyoshi, DE-56 JSN Agano
          • Northern Multi-Mission Force 1 (NS Ominato) - DDH-511 JSN Maya, DDG-405 JSN Satsuki, DD-415 JSN Kawakaze, DD-412 JSN Matsukaze
          • Northern Multi-Mission Force 2 (NS Ominato) - DDH-512 JSN Chōkai, DDG-402 JSN Kisaragi, DD-411 JSN Harukaze, DD-413 JSN Hatakaze
      • Western Fleet - NS Sasebo
        • Fleet Surface Force
          • Kaga Strike Group (NS Sasebo)
            • CVN-12 JSN Kaga
            • Western Escort Squadron 1 - DDG-403 JSN Yayoi, DD-423 JSN Soyokaze, DD-416 JSN Urakaze, DE-55 JSN Shinano, DE-59 JSN Nagara
            • Western Escort Squadron 2 - DDG-408 JSN Hazuki, DD-424 JSN Tsumujikaze, DD-417 JSN Hamakaze, DE-57 JSN Sakawa, DE-58 JSN Yoshino
          • Western Multi-Mission Force 1 (NS Maizuru) - DDH-513 JSN Takao, DDG-409 JSN Nagatsuki, DD-419 JSN Tanikaze, DD-344 JSN Fukui
          • Western Multi-Mission Force 2 (NS Sasebo)- DDH-514 JSN Atago, DDG-410 JSN Kannazuki, DD-410 JSN Kiyokaze, DD-354 JSN Osaka
      • Eastern Fleet - NS Yokosuka
        • Fleet Surface Force
          • Akagi Strike Group (NS Yokosuka)
            • CVN-11 JSN Akagi
            • Eastern Escort Squadron 1 - DDG-406 JSN Minazuki, DD-425 JSN Matsukaze, DD-427 Hayate, DE-60 JSN Seta, DE-62 JSN Kikuchi
            • Eastern Escort Squadron 2 - DDG-407 JSN Fumizuki, DD-426 JSN Okaze, DD-364 JSN Tottori, DE-61 JSN Maruyama, DE-63 JSN Takahashi
          • Eastern Multi-Mission Force 1 (NS Kure) - DDH-515 JSN Kirishima, DDG-411 JSN Shimotsuki, DD-363 JSN Shimane, DD-331 JSN Ibaraki
          • Eastern Multi-Mission Force 2 (NS Yokosuka) - DDH-516 JSN Myoko, DDG-412 JSN Shiwasu, DD-342 JSN Toyama, DD-386 JSN Miyazaki
        • 1st Logistics Squadron (NS Yokosuka): AOE-422 Towada (NS Ominato); AOE-423 Tokiwa (NS Yokosuka); AOE-424 Hamana (NS Sasebo); AOE-425 Mashu (NS Kure); AOE-426 Akashi (NS Maizuru)
          • 1st Training Squadron: TDD-333 Gunma; TDH-411 Amagi; TDG-311 Yuudachi; TDH-421 Yamabuki; TDD-381 Fukuoka; TDD-311 Hokkaido
          • Fleet Training Command (NS Yokosuka)

JSN Districts