Japan military seeks women soldiers as birthrate falls

STORY: On the Japanese navy ship Osumi, several female faces stand out among a crowd of elite soldiers.

As Japan’s population shrinks and tension in Asia rises… Japan’s military hopes to see more women like them join its ranks-- even as recent high-profile abuse scandals may discourage them.

The Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) was established in 2018 amid growing tensions in the East China Sea.

Soldiers in this force are trained to lead assaults from the sea in a possible future war.

Corporal Runa Kurosawa is a mechanic who maintains vehicles on the ship.

She says she chose the ARDB because she wanted to be at the heart of the action:

"I was hooked when I watched a video of the whole process of them (the ARDB) coming up out of the sea onto land, taking back an island. I thought it wasn't like a normal unit. It was admirable to see them working on the frontlines, and that's why I wanted to join."

As Japan's birthrate plummets and threats from China, Russia and North Korea increase, the military wants more female recruitment to maintain troop levels.

Here’s Shingo Nashinoki, commander of the ARDB force at the time of filming:

"With the deepening birthrate crisis our country faces, it’s especially important that we engage

more women in order to secure our supply of talented individuals for the future."

Although the number of Japanese female soldiers has doubled in the past decade, Japan's military remains very much a man's world.

Women make up just under nine percent of the country’s Self-Defense Forces, half the rate of the U.S. military.

The number is even lower in the ARDB, at less than 2 per cent.

The disparity is evident on the Osumi.

The ship was not designed for a mixed-gender crew when it was built two decades ago.

Unlike their male colleagues who sleep in bunks assigned to them by rank and unit, the women are all put up together, regardless of rank.

This printed sign warns the men aboard to stay out.

The SDF's efforts to rebrand itself as female-friendly and entice more women to enlist have been undermined in recent months by high-profile sexual harassment cases.

Last fall, the Japanese Minister of Defence had to apologize after a Japanese sailor was forced to meet a superior accused of sexually harassing her.

Then, just months later, a Japanese court found three male soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female comrade.

Staff Sergeant Hikari Maruyama is now serving her 20th year in the SDF.

Like all soldiers on board, she pitches in with kitchen duties, like serving meals.

The 38 year-old has two daughters with her SDF-enlisted husband.

Considering society places higher expectations for child-rearing on women, she says one way to attract more women soldiers would be for the military to expand childcare services.

Maruyama admits she had reservations about joining the ARDB at first.

But through her example, she is changing the perception of the ARDB as a place where only men can succeed.

"People, even within the SDF, have this strong image of the ARDB as being men, who are physically fit, very skilled, very experienced, working on the frontlines. And I think a lot of women worry about whether they can handle it. I was also worried about it, but I’m learning from those around me and improving my skills day by day."