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Japan's Maritime Self-Defense to Recruit Female Submarine Crew Members - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) will be recruiting female staff for its submarine crews in a bid to make up labor shortage, local media reported.
Sputnik

According to NHK broadcaster, submarines remained the only unit of Japan's MSDF without women's participation.

It is planned to have at least six female members aboard each vessel in 2023, which accounts for about 10 percent of each crew, the media outlet added.

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The Japanese MSDF currently has only 80 percent of the needed number of personnel due to falling birthrate.

The phenomenon of fertility decline and aging population have been Japan's growing socio-economic problems.

Japan’s post-war constitution says the nation renounces war and abstains from using force as means of settling international disputes. The law also bans land, sea and air "war potential," although Japan has a de facto army called the Self-Defense Force, which was allowed in 2016 to send troops overseas to help allies under attack.

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