By Song Bo
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani recently announced at a press conference that Tokyo plans to integrate the existing elite combat units of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) in FY2026 to form a new special operations brigade. Analysts say this new brigade will become an important pillar supporting Japan's defense strategy's outward-looking transformation and could have complex implications for regional security and stability.
In terms of force composition, the brigade will integrate two subordinate special units of the JGSDF. One is the roughly 400-member Special Operations Group (SOG), primarily responsible for unconventional operations and counter terrorism at home and abroad. The other is the approximately 800-member Central Readiness Regiment (CRR), mainly tasked with overseas evacuation operations and low-intensity emergency deployments.
Regarding Japan's intentions behind establishing the new special operations brigade, military analyst Shao Yongling noted that integrating the two existing special operations units into a single brigade can help eliminate long-standing coordination barriers. It allows Japan to retain each unit's specialized capabilities to handle diverse missions while enhancing mutual support and joint operational effectiveness when needed. Given today's increasingly diverse security threats, including nontraditional challenges such as evacuation operations and counter terrorism, many countries see the establishment of such units as essential for improving their armed forces' overall responsiveness.
According to reports, the commanding officer of Japan's newly formed special operations brigade will hold the rank of Rikushō-ho (equivalent to an Army Major General), underscoring the high regard of the JGSDF for this new unit. However, Shao Yongling pointed out that the brigade's future development faces multiple challenges. In addition to limitations in operational capability and experience, any overseas deployment of JSDF would require breaking through existing legal and policy constraints, a move that warrants close international attention and vigilance.
Military analyst Shao Yongling said the new special operations brigade is primarily oriented toward overseas operations. Because Japan has long adhered to the “exclusively defense-oriented” principle, the JSDF faces many legal and policy hurdles in conducting missions abroad. Japan may next move to enact legislation to legalize overseas deployments by the JSDF. In terms of capability, the JSDF lags behind the US military's mature and organized special operations forces. If tasked with missions overseas in the future, Japan is likely to rely on joint actions with the US or NATO and to leverage allied forces to bolster its own capabilities.
Some analysts believe that the establishment of Japan's new special operations brigade reflects a deeper adjustment in its defense strategy, with the core objectives being to enhance operational flexibility and strengthen overall deterrence. Shao Yongling further pointed out that this move is not merely an acceleration of Japan's military capacity building, but a strategic step toward breaking free from postwar constraints, globalizing the deployment and use of its armed forces, and pursuing the status of a so-called political and military power. Such developments, Shao warned, will inevitably exert a grave negative impact on regional security.
According to Shao, Japan has taken frequent actions in the field of security over the past two decades. In 2022, it adopted the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the Defense Buildup Program (DBP) that explicitly called for the development of long-range strike capabilities, including the procurement of Tomahawk cruise missiles, the development of hypersonic weapons, and the extension of anti-ship missile ranges to 1,000 kilometers, which signals that Japan's strategic transformation has entered an accelerated phase. This series of moves is aimed not only at enhancing Japan's international influence but also at revealing its strategic ambition to assert itself as a political and military power through multiple means. Given Japan's continued refusal to properly acknowledge its historical aggressions or apologize for its wartime crimes, Shao warned that if Japan seeks to stir up trouble in the international arena in the future, neighboring countries must remain highly vigilant toward its actions.
Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.