Rear Admiral Gojiro Watanabe describes the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) as an organisation that, for the first half of its 63-year existence, was little more than an auxiliary to the US Navy (USN). Now, he says, it is a modern multi-mission navy - responsible for ballistic missile defence, sea lane defence, and disaster relief- as well as a key contributor to regional and global maritime security. For 30 years after being established in 1952 the JMSDF "was in its infancy... we didn't have skills relative to the US Navy," Rear Adm Watanabe told IHS Jane's during a recent interview in London. This changed in the early 1980s with the acquisition of the Lockheed P-3 maritime patrol aircraft and the service's first appearance at the USN's 'RIMPAC' exercises, held every two years off Hawaii. "So, as a partner with the USN, we prepared for warfighting against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
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