Japan formally activated on Sunday a new joint maritime transport unit geared towards improving troop deployment capabilities in Japan’s southwest islands.
The Maritime Transport Group of the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) was formally stood up on Sunday in a ceremony overseen by Japan Defense Minister Gen Nakatani at the unit’s current and temporary base at Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Kure naval base, located in Hiroshima Prefecture on the main island of Honshu.
Nakatani said the global security environment is currently extremely severe and strengthening the ability to deploy quickly to the southwestern region is an urgent issue for our Japan’s defense. He added that securing ships to be able to deploy quickly to the southwestern region has been a long-standing issue for the JSDF, but the joint operation of the Maritime Transport Group will enable large-scale transportation “The formation of the Maritime Transport Group will enable faster and more reliable deployment to the southwestern region and other areas,” said Nakatani.
The Japanese Defense Minister also stated that the Maritime Transport Group is under the direct control of the Defense Minister and will transport JSDF forces under the command of the joint operations commander.
The Maritime Transport Group currently consists of a hundred personnel with Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Nihonbare (LCU-4151) being formally delivered on Sunday as well to the unit while Landing Support Vessel (LSV) Yoko (LSV-4101) will enter service later this year.
The LCU is approximately 80m long with a displacement of around 2,400 tons with the ability to beach itself to directly unload personnel and equipment while the LSV is 120m long with a displacement of around 3,500 tons, though it lacks the beaching ability of the LSV, it will have a greater vehicle and cargo transportation capability. The Maritime Transport Group will increase its number of personnel as it expands with a total fleet of 4 LCUs, 2 LSVs and 4 Manoeuvre Support Vessels (MSV) by April 2028. The MSVs are expected to be a 35m high speed landing craft with the first entering service by mid to late 2026.
Owing to the JMSDF’s shortage of personnel, the bulk of the Maritime Transport Group’s personnel are drawn from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) who have been previously trained by the JMSDF in ship operations. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that the unit’s commander is Col. Kosei Baba of the JGSDF.
Nakatani stated during the press conference that the Maritime Transport Group will be split into two units, one with the LSVs while the other with the LCUs and that the LCU unit will relocate to the JMSDF Hanshin base in Hyogo Prefecture on the main island of Honshu in FY2025 (Apr.1-Mar.31). He added that the Ministry was still considering where to base the unit in FY2026 onwards so he could not state as to whether the unit will be based in future in the southwest islands.
Currently, Japan’s amphibious capabilities is in the form of the three Osumi class LSTs in service with the JMSDF and amphibious air assault by JGSDF V-22 Ospreys and helicopters operating from the two Izumo class and Ise class destroyer helicopter carriers. The Osumi LSTs have flight decks but its deck elevators are unable to support anything beyond light helicopter. With China’s becoming increasingly assertive over its claims to the Senkaku Islands held by Japan, defense of the southwest islands of Japan has become one of Japan’s key defense focus with Tokyo pushing the developments and deployments of long-range stand-off weapons to defend its islands along with procuring Tomahawk cruise missiles as a deterrent capability under its counterstrike doctrine.
