Overview
- The Ministry of Defense held the memorial on Oct. 17 at its Shinjuku memorial zone, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi attending.
- Officials said 16 service members were recognized as having died from duty-related accidents over the past year, bringing the post‑1950 cumulative total to 2,158.
- The April tank‑round explosion at the JGSDF Hijiodai training area in Oita, which killed three soldiers, was singled out among the incidents commemorated.
- Takaichi pledged to carry on the fallen personnel’s will and to protect civilians, and Koizumi said the nation must never forget those who died before completing their mission.
- About 270 people attended, including bereaved families who urged full cause investigations, and the government signaled plans to speed up measures to improve treatment and recruitment for the Self‑Defense Forces.