Politics
Defense Minister Rules Out Foreign Nationals in the Self-Defense Forces
Days after the Sasakawa Peace Foundation floated recruiting foreign nationals into the Self-Defense Forces to ease a manpower shortage, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a September 4 press conference that he was 'not considering' it, keeping eligibility limited to Japanese citizens. Online support for the rejection leaned on espionage fears, though the minister's own stated priorities were better pay for current members and productivity gains from AI and technology.