Saburo Kobayashi
General Saburo Kobayashi | |
|---|---|
|
小林 三郎 | |
.jpg) | |
| Chief of Staff, Joint Staff | |
|
Assumed office December 10, 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Kazuma Amamiya |
| Preceded by | Takeshi Koga |
| Chief of Staff, Air Staff | |
|
In office September 3, 2014 – December 10, 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Hajime Tanaka |
| Preceded by | Shinji Maruyama |
| Succeeded by | Masanobu Oshima |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 10, 1956 Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan |
| Education | National Defense Academy of Japan |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Japan |
| Branch/service |
 Japanese State Air Force |
| Years of service | 1974–present |
| Rank |
.svg){kind=small} General |
General Saburo Kobayashi (小林 三郎, Kobayashi Saburo, born September 10, 1956) is a Japanese State Air Force officer who has been the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, the professional head of the Japanese State Armed Forces, since 2018. Before that he was the Chief of Staff, Air Staff, from 2014 to 2018 and held a number of senior posts in the JSAF, including as the head of Air Defense Command, the Southeastern Air Defense Force, and as a wing and squadron commander.
Early life and education
He was born in Saga, Saga Prefecture, in 1956. Saburo Kobayashi applied for and was accepted into the National Defense Academy of Japan, the officer commissioning school for the Japanese State Army and Air Force, in 1974 as an Air Force officer candidate. After his graduation in 1978 he had further studies at the Japanese Air Force Officer Candidate School and became qualified as a pilot on the Mitsubishi F-4EJ.
Air Force career
After completing his training he was assigned as a second lieutenant to the 204th Tactical Fighter Squadron, JSAF Southeastern Air Defense Force, at the Naha Air Base in Okinawa. Kobayashi was promoted to lieutenant in November 1983, captain in March 1987, lieutenant colonel in December 1989, and colonel in February 1994. During this time he was mostly stationed with the 204th Tactical Fighter Squadron except for a period from 1990 to 1993 as a flight instructor for the Republic of Vietnam Air Force as part of a secret military agreement reached between the governments of South Vietnam and Japan. After returning home to Japan he became the squadron commander of his fighter squadron from 1994 until his promotion to major general in September 1998, at which point he became commanding general of the 9th Air Wing.
Kobayashi was promoted to lieutenant general in November 2004 and became the commanding officer of the Southeastern Air Defense Force. In October 2009 he was appointed to the Air Staff as the Commander of Air Defense Command, placing him in charge of all of the Japanese State Air Force's combat units. He was promoted to general in September 2014 and was made the commander of the JSAF as the Chief of Staff, Air Staff. During his time at the head of the Air Force, Kobayashi changed the focus of the branch on protecting Japanese air space from incursions made by aircraft of the Republic of China Air Force, which he reported to the National Diet of Japan in 2015 were increasing significantly in recent years. His recommendations to the government were to change Japan's national security strategy to take into account the changing military situation in Asia caused by the growth of the Chinese military, in a policy whitepaper published alongside Army General Sotaro Mishima and Navy Admiral Ren Kageura in 2017. He also made efforts to increase cooperation and training for interoperability with Japan's allies in the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization (INTO), especially the Sierran Royal Air Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force, and the Royal Air Force.
Chief of the Joint Staff
He was chosen to replace Admiral Takeshi Koga as the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces by Prime Minister Kazuma Amamiya in December 2018.