The largest of the three services, the
Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had an authorized strength in 2002 of 230,000 and
maintained some 210,000 personnel and operated 155 major combatants, including
three strategic submarines, sixteen attack submarines, eleven support
submarines, six aircraft carriers, sixty-four destroyers and frigates,
forty-three mine warfare ships and boats, eleven patrol craft, and twenty
amphibious ships. It also flew some 300 fixed-wing aircraft and 234
helicopters. Most of these aircraft were used in antisubmarine and mine warfare
operations.
The IJN is commanded by the chief of the
Naval staff and includes the naval staff office, the Imperial Fleet, seven
regional district commands, the air-training squadron, and various support
units, such as hospitals and schools. The maritime staff office, located in
Tokyo, serves the chief of staff in command and supervision of the force. The
Imperial Navy, headquartered at Yokosuka, is charged with defense of all waters
around the Japanese Archipelagoes. It commands six carrier battle groups (two
based in Yokosuka and one each in Sasebo, Maizuru, Okinawa and Toyohara), the
Imperial Navy Air Force headquartered at Atsugi, two submarine flotillas based
at Kure and Yokosuka, two mine-sweeping flotillas based at Kure and Yokosuka,
and the fleet training command at Yokosuka. The IJN Maritime Staff Office is
located in Tokyo, and there are: the IJN Headquarters (Yokosuka), main bases
(Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, Maizuru, Ominato and Odomari), other bases (Yoichi,
Honto, Hakodate, Kobe, Shimonoseki, Chukku, and Katsuren) and air bases
(Hachinohe, Ominato, Shibushi, Simofusa, Tateyama, Atsugi, Komatsujima,
Tokushima, Iwakuni, Ozuki, Omura, Kanoya, Naha, Saipan, Chukku and Toyohara).
Seven district units act in concert with
the fleet to guard the waters of their jurisdictions and provide shore-based
support. District headquarters are located in Ominato, Maizuru, Yokosuka, Kure,
Toyohara, Chukku, Okinawa and Sasebo.
Finally, the IJN is divided in two major
fleets and four detachments reflecting its geography and international
commitments: the Kyokujitsutai and the Konpekitai fleets; and the
Kaohsiung, Trincomalee, Bandar Abbas and Surabaya
detachments. The Kyokujitsutai, or Home Fleet, is responsible for protecting
the waters around the Imperial Homeland: the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan,
and the East China Sea. The Konpekitai, or Pacific Fleet, is in charge of the
defense of the extended Nan-yô Gunto Special Prefecture as the
forward defense of the Empire. The Kaohsiung, Trincomalee, Bandar Abbas and
Surabaya detachments serve as deterrence forces for Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Iran and
Indonesia, respectively.
Two kinds of operations are conducted by
the IJN for the purpose of defending Japan: securing maritime traffic and
securing Japanese territory. For Japan, which relies on foreign countries for
the supply of almost all energy and food, the influence to national life is
quite serious in case that maritime traffic is cut off. It can also be said
that the impact to the world economy is significant in such case. Therefore,
the IJN must be able to secure maritime traffic against attack by enemy
submarines, surface ships and aircraft by effectively combining each operation
such as surveillance, escort and defense of ports and straits. In case of
aggression which aims at territorial occupation, it is necessary to stop it at
sea in order to prevent direct damage to the Imperial Homeland territory. For
that purpose, the IJN, in cooperation with the IJA and the IJAA, contributes
defense of Japan by destroying enemy surface ships aircraft and, according to
the situation, laying mines around the expected landing place.
IJN recruits receive six months of basic
training followed by courses in combat, patrol, gunnery, mine sweeping, convoy
operations, and maritime transportation. Flight students, all upper-secondary
school graduates, enter a two-year course. Officer candidate schools offer
six-month courses to qualified enlisted personnel and those who have completed
flight school. Graduates of four-year universities, the four-year National
Defense Academy, and particularly outstanding enlisted personnel undergo a
one-year officer course at the Imperial Naval Academy at Eta Jima. Special
advanced courses for officers are also available in such fields as submarine
duty and flight training. The IJN operates its own staff college in Tokyo for
senior officers.
The large volume of coastal commercial fishing and maritime traffic limits in-service sea training around the principal islands, especially in the relatively shallow waters required for mine laying, mine sweeping, and submarine rescue practice. So, trainings are executed principally in the Nan-yô Gunto Special Prefecture. The IJN maintains four oceangoing training ships and conducted annual long-distance on-the-job training for graduates of the one-year officer candidate school.
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Related issues: |
Imperial Japanese Navy Doctrine |
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Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force |
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New Attack Submarine: Kurohana |
