Fatal crash spotlights Japan military’s ageing aircraft, recruitment struggles

When a T-4 training jet plunged into a reservoir in Aichi prefecture last week, killing at least one crew member, it reignited concerns over the safety of Japan’s military aviation. The crash, part of a troubling series of fatal accidents in recent years, has shaken public trust and underlined the recruitment challenges facing the country’s self-defence forces. The T-4 aircraft, carrying two crew members, went down just two minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base last Wednesday. Search teams have recovered the body of one crew member, while efforts continue to locate the other in the murky waters of the reservoir. Analysts warn that the crash, which has prompted fresh scrutiny of the Air Self-Defence Force’s safety protocols and ageing equipment, is likely to make attracting new recruits to Japan’s already overstretched military even more difficult. “If serious incidents continue to occur almost every year, the public’s trust in the SDF could be lost,” the Yomiuri Shimbun said in a May 16 editorial. The newspaper raised questions about possible maintenance lapses or pilot error and cautioned that such accidents could deepen the military’s manpower crisis. A similar editorial from the Mainichi Shimbun echoed these concerns: “Unless the SDF does the utmost to prevent recurrences and works to alleviate the public’s concerns, trust in the forces could be shaken.” The crash is only the latest in a series of fatal incidents involving Japanese military aircraft. In April last year, two Maritime Self-Defence Force SH-60K helicopters collided during a nighttime anti-submarine drill near the Izu Islands, killing all eight crew members. Investigators attributed the tragedy to pilot error. A year earlier, in April 2023, a Ground Self-Defence Force Mitsubishi UH-60JA helicopter carrying 10 people crashed into the sea off Miyakojima, Okinawa prefecture. Six bodies were eventually recovered. In January 2022, an ASDF F-15 fighter jet crashed into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, shortly after take-off from Komatsu Air Base, killing both crew members. The frequency of such incidents has raised troubling questions about safety management within Japan’s military. Investigators are still trying to piece together the final moments of the ill-fated T-4 jet. The training aircraft had climbed to an altitude of about 1,400 metres (4,600 feet) before suddenly banking sharply to the right and plunging into the reservoir. No distress call was made, and neither crew member ejected. Speculation is rife that the pilots may have chosen to remain with the aircraft to avoid a catastrophic crash in the densely populated areas surrounding the lake. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the aircraft, built in 1989, was not equipped with a flight recorder – a decision that now complicates efforts to determine the cause of the crash. Of the 200 T-4 aircraft operated by the ASDF, about 60 still lack flight recorders. Calls for the urgent retrofitting of these jets have grown louder in the wake of the accident. In the meantime, all T-4 jets, including those flown by the ASDF’s famed Blue Impulse aerobatics team, have been grounded for emergency inspections. The crash has added to the ASDF’s woes amid a recruitment crisis exacerbated by a shrinking pool of eligible young people and the armed forces’ increasingly tarnished reputation. “It seems likely that the crash was either due to human or technical error, or a combination of the two,” said a security analyst who declined to be named. “Until the cause is determined, speculation will continue and fuel negative publicity.” The analyst warned of a vicious cycle, whereby these incidents harm the forces’ reputation and make it even more difficult to recruit people. In an unrelated event, officials at the ASDF’s Iruma Air Base in Saitama prefecture reported that an aircraft approaching the base on May 16 was targeted by a green laser beam. While the aircraft sustained no damage and none of the five people aboard were injured, the base issued a stern statement: “This is a dangerous act that threatens the lives of the crew and those living under the flight path. We are taking this incident very seriously.”