page_title: Japan Self-Defense Forces
section_title: Peacekeeping
hierarchical_section_title: Japan Self-Defense Forces / Missions and deployments / Peacekeeping
caption_attribution_description: English: Japan Air Self Defense Force, C-130H transport (the Iraq dispatch specification) 日本語: 航空自衛隊のC-130H輸送機（イラク派遣仕様）
context_page_description: The Japan Self-Defense Forces, also known as the Self-Defense Forces or Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established by the Self-Defense Forces Law in 1954, and are controlled by the Ministry of Defense. The JSDF has the world's Fifth-largest military budget. In recent years, it has engaged in international peacekeeping operations with the United Nations.
  The JSDF is ranked as the 5th most powerful military force on the planet as of 2020.
  Tensions, particularly with North Korea, have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society. Military guidelines of December 2010 refocused the JSDF from the former Soviet Union to a focus on the People's Republic of China, while military cooperation has increased with Australia, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States.
context_section_description: In June 1992, the National Diet passed a UN Peacekeeping Cooperation Law which permitted the JSDF to participate in UN medical, refugee repatriation, logistical support, infrastructural reconstruction, election-monitoring, and policing operations under strictly limited conditions.
  The non-combatant participation of the JSDF in the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in conjunction with Japanese diplomatic efforts contributed to the successful implementation of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords for Cambodia.
  Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura had stated that discussions with Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura were taking place regarding the possibility of creating a permanent law for JSDF forces to be deployed in peacekeeping missions outside Japan. The adoption of a permanent peacekeeping law has been considered by the government, according to the Mainichi Daily News. In 2014, the LDP did not make progress due to concerns from Komeito that JSDF forces can be sent to a peacekeeping operation where Japan is not involved.
  In 2004, the Japanese government ordered a deployment of troops to Iraq at the behest of the United States: A contingent of the Japan Self-Defense Forces was sent in order to assist the U.S.-led Reconstruction of Iraq. This controversial deployment marked a significant turning point in Japan's history, as it is the first time since the end of World War II that Japan sent troops abroad except for a few minor UN peacekeeping deployments. Public opinion regarding this deployment was sharply divided, especially given that Japan's military is constitutionally structured as solely a self-defense force, and operating in Iraq seemed at best tenuously connected to that mission. The Koizumi administration, however, decided to send troops to respond to a request from the US. Even though they deployed with their weapons, because of constitutional restraints, the troops were protected by Japanese Special Forces troops and Australian units. The Japanese soldiers were there purely for humanitarian and reconstruction work, and were prohibited from opening fire on Iraqi insurgents unless they were fired on first. Japanese forces withdrew from Iraq in 2006.
  Japan provided logistics units for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone, which supervises the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, monitors Israeli and Syrian military activities, and assists local civilians.
  Japanese forces are frequent among the international disaster relief teams, with deployments in Rwanda (1994), Honduras (1998), Turkey (1999), West Timor (1999–2000), Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Iran (2003–2004), Thailand (2004–2005), Indonesia (2005), Russia (2005), Pakistan (2005), Indonesia (2006), Indonesia (2009), Haiti (2010), Pakistan (2010), New Zealand (2011). In the aftermath of an earthquake in Haiti, Japan deployed a contingent of troops, including engineers with bulldozers and heavy machinery, to assist the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Their duties were peacekeeping, removal of rubble, and the reconstruction of roads and buildings.
  Self-Defense Forces have conducted overseas activities such as dispatching UN peacekeepers to Cambodia. In 2003, Japan created a law to deal with armed attacks and amended the Self-Defense Forces law. In 2004, Japan dispatched for two and a half years to the Samawa district of southern Iraq under the Special Measures for Iraqi Recovery Support Act.
caption: JASDF C-130 Hercules supporting the Japanese mission in Iraq
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