| Chief of Staff, Joint Staff | |
|---|---|
| 統合幕僚長 | |
![]() Standard of the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff | |
| Japan Self-Defense Forces | |
| Member of | Joint Staff Defense Council |
| Reports to | Minister of Defense |
| Appointer | Minister of Defense Subject to formal approval by the Cabinet |
| Precursor | Chairman of the Joint Staff Council |
| Formation | 1 July 1954 |
| First holder | Keizō Hayashi |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff |
| Website | |
The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff (Japanese: 統合幕僚長, Hepburn: Tōgō Bakuryō-chō) is the highest-ranking military officer and head of the Operational Authority (command) over the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
Chief of Staff, Joint Staff is selected from among the Chief of Staff, Ground Self-Defense Force, Chief of Staff, Maritime Self-Defense Force and Chief of Staff, Air Self-Defense Force.
The rank is Lieutenant General[1] or Vice Admiral,[1] while in office the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff will be treated as a four-star rank, and will be designated as General or Admiral.
The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff assists the Minister of Defense on all matters of the JSDF, and executes orders of the Minister of Defense with directions from the Prime Minister.[2][3]
Structure
The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, is the head of the Joint Staff (統合幕僚監部, Tōgō Bakuryō Kanbu), which consists of a Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, the Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, an Administrative Vice Chief of Staff, as well as numerous departments and special staffs.
The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff supervises the service branches operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and would assume command in the event of a war, but their powers are limited to policy formation and defense coordination during peacetime.[4][5] The chain of operational authority runs from the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff to the commanders of the several Operational Commands.
Each service branch is headed by its respective chief of staff, who has administrative control over its own services.
List of officeholders
The current Chief of Staff, Joint Staff is General Yoshihide Yoshida, who took office in March 2023.[6]
Chairman of the Joint Staff Council
| No. | Portrait | Chairman of the Joint Staff Council | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Keizō Hayashi 林 敬三 (1907–1991) | 1 July 1954 | 13 August 1964 | 10 years, 43 days | ||
| 2 | Admiral Sugie Ichizo 杉江一三 (1908–1999) | 14 August 1964 | 29 April 1966 | 1 year, 258 days | ||
| 3 | General Amano Yoshihide 天野良英 (1910–2001) | 30 April 1966 | 14 November 1967 | 1 year, 198 days | ||
| 4 | General Hirokuni Muta 牟田弘國 (1910–1987) | 15 November 1967 | 30 June 1969 | 1 year, 227 days | ||
| 5 | Admiral Ryuichi Itaya 板谷隆一 (1911–1991) | 1 June 1969 | 31 May 1971 | 1 year, 364 days | ||
| 6 | Admiral Fumio Kinugasa 衣笠駿雄 (1915–2007) | 1 June 1971 | 31 January 1973 | 1 year, 214 days | ||
| 7 | General Ryuhei Nakamura 中村龍平 (1916–2008) | 1 February 1973 | 30 June 1974 | 1 year, 149 days | ||
| 8 | General Motoharu Shirakawa 白川元春 (1918–2008) | 1 July 1974 | 15 March 1976 | 1 year, 258 days | ||
| 9 | Admiral Hirokazu Samejima 鮫島博一 (1918–2000) | 16 March 1976 | 19 October 1977 | 1 year, 217 days | ||
| 10 | General Hiroomi Kurisu 栗栖弘臣 (1920–2004) | 20 October 1977 | 27 July 1978 | 280 days | ||
| 11 | General Takehiko Takae 高品武彦 (1922–2014) | 27 July 1978 | 31 July 1979 | 1 year, 4 days | ||
| 12 | General Goro Takeda 竹田五郎 (1921–2020) | 1 August 1979 | 15 February 1981 | 1 year, 198 days | ||
| 13 | Admiral Kunio Yada 矢田次夫 (1923–2012) | 16 February 1981 | 15 March 1983 | 2 years, 27 days | ||
| 14 | General Sumio Murai 村井澄夫 (born 1925) | 16 March 1983 | 30 June 1984 | 1 year, 106 days | ||
| 15 | General Keitaro Watanabe 渡部敬太郎 (1927–1997) | 1 July 1984 | 5 February 1986 | 1 year, 219 days | ||
| 16 | General Shigehiro Mori (general) 森繁弘 (born 1928) | 6 February 1986 | 10 December 1987 | 1 year, 307 days | ||
| 17 | General Ishii Masao 石井政雄 (1931–2007) | 11 December 1987 | 15 March 1990 | 2 years, 94 days | ||
| 18 | General Taizo Terashima 寺島泰三 (born 1933) | 16 March 1990 | 30 June 1991 | 1 year, 106 days | ||
| 19 | Admiral Hajime Sakuma 佐久間一 (1935–2014) | 1 July 1991 | 30 June 1993 | 1 year, 364 days | ||
| 20 | General Tetsuya Nishimoto 西元徹也 (born 1936) | 1 July 1993 | 24 March 1996 | 2 years, 267 days | ||
| 21 | General Sugiyama Ban 杉山蕃 (born 1938) | 25 March 1996 | 12 October 1997 | 1 year, 201 days | ||
| 22 | Admiral Kazuya Natsukawa 夏川和也 (born 1940) | 13 October 1997 | 30 March 1999 | 1 year, 168 days | ||
| 23 | General Yuji Fujinawa (born 1941) | 31 March 1999 | 26 March 2001 | 1 year, 360 days | ||
| 24 | General Shoji Takegochi 竹河内捷次 (born 1943) | 27 March 2001 | 27 January 2003 | 1 year, 306 days | ||
| 25 | Admiral Toru Ishikawa 石川亨 (born 1944) | 28 January 2003 | 29 August 2004 | 1 year, 214 days | ||
| 26 | General Hajime Massaki 先崎一 (born 1944) | 30 August 2004 | 26 March 2006 | 1 year, 208 days |
Chief of Staff, Joint Staff
| No. | Portrait | Chief of Staff, Joint Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | General Hajime Massaki 先 崎一 (born 1944) | 27 March 2006 | 3 August 2006 | 129 days | ||
| 27 | Admiral Takashi Saito (admiral) 齋藤 隆 (born 1948) | 4 August 2006 | 23 March 2009 | 2 years, 231 days | ||
| 28 | General Ryoichi Oriki 折木 良一 (born 1950) | 24 March 2009 | 30 January 2012 | 2 years, 312 days | ||
| 29 | General Shigeru Iwasaki 岩崎茂 (born 1953) | 31 January 2012 | 13 October 2014 | 2 years, 255 days | ||
| 30 | Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano 河野 克俊 (born 1954) | 14 October 2014 | 31 March 2019 | 4 years, 168 days | ||
| 31 | General Kōji Yamazaki 山崎 幸二 (born 1961) | 1 April 2019 | 29 March 2023 | 3 years, 362 days | ||
| 32 | General Yoshihide Yoshida 吉田 圭秀 (born 1962) | 30 March 2023 | Incumbent | 273 days |
See also
References
- 1 2 The highest rank in the Japan Self-Defense Force.
- ↑ "自衛隊: 組織" [JSDF: Organization]. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 153301537. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- ↑ "Responsibility of COS,JS | Japan JSO Oficial Webdite". www.mod.go.jp. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ↑ "Self Defense Forces". Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 56431036. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- ↑ The Ministry of Defense Reorganized: For the Support of Peace and Security (PDF). Tokyo: Japan Ministry of Defense. 2007. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- ↑ Japan Self-Defense Forces. "Organization". Ministry of Defense (Japan). Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ↑ P89 5th line,need to download
.svg.png.webp)

.jpg.webp)
![Sugie Ichizo [ja]杉江一三](../I/Sugie_Ichizo_with_his_daughter_(cropped).jpg.webp)
![Amano Yoshihide [ja]天野良英](../I/No_image.png.webp)
![Hirokuni Muta [ja]牟田弘國](../I/Hirokuni-Muta-JASDF.png.webp)
![Ryuichi Itaya [ja]板谷隆一](../I/Ryuichi_Itaya.jpg.webp)
![Goro Takeda [ja]竹田五郎](../I/Goro_Takeda_19800101.JPEG.webp)
![Taizo Terashima [ja]寺島泰三](../I/Inaugural_Ceremony_of_General_Taizo_Terashima_as_Chairman%252C_Joint_Staff_Council_%E5%AF%BA%E5%B3%B6%E6%B3%B0%E4%B8%89%E7%B5%B1%E5%90%88%E5%B9%95%E5%83%9A%E4%BC%9A%E8%AD%B0%E8%AD%B0%E9%95%B7%E7%9D%80%E4%BB%BB%E5%BC%8F_(1990_Defense_Agency_record_-_%E5%B9%B3%E6%88%90%EF%BC%92%E5%B9%B4%E9%98%B2%E8%A1%9B%E5%BA%81%E8%A8%98%E9%8C%B2_06%EF%BC%9A58)_(cropped).png.webp)
![Takashi Saito (admiral) [ja]齋藤 隆](../I/JMSDF_Admiral_Takashi_Saito_%E9%BD%8B%E8%97%A4%E9%9A%86%E6%B5%B7%E5%B0%86_(Defense.gov_photo_essay_071108-N-0696M-150).jpg.webp)
![Ryoichi Oriki [ja]折木 良一](../I/JGSDF_General_Ryoichi_Oriki_%E6%8A%98%E6%9C%A8%E8%89%AF%E4%B8%80%E9%99%B8%E5%B0%86_(Defense.gov_News_Photo_100624-N-0696M-028).jpg.webp)


.jpg.webp)
