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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosted a party accompanying the Meeting of the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Force (SDF) Senior Personnel, at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister said in his address,

“I am delighted to have this opportunity today to celebrate with all of you, who are the core of Japan’s national defense and are working on the front line.

I believe that my most important responsibility as Prime Minister is to protect the lives and peaceful daily lives of the people.

I would like to once again express my respect for the 250,000 members of the SDF who are fulfilling this responsibility under challenging circumstances, literally 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. At the same time, I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of their family members.

Recently, the SDF has become very popular, with SDF members being sought as marriage partners, giving rise to a new term, “J-kon” (short for “Jieikan to no Kekkon,” meaning “marriage with a member of the SDF”). It seems that there are also now numerous TV dramas, anime, and photo collections, with the SDF as their theme. Since I myself have spent a lot of time with members of the SDF, I understand the reasons for this well.

For example, my diplomacy that takes a panoramic perspective of the world map is supported by the crew of the government airplane. Even in just the last two months, I visited 13 countries, and my total flying time reached as much as 120 hours. That computes to spending the equivalent of a full five days on board an airplane.

Meanwhile, when leaders of foreign countries visit the Prime Minister’s Office here, the visit always starts with a welcome by the Special Guard of Honor.

This year we welcomed new members from the SDF to serve as the Prime Minister’s Office photographer corps, who transmit my actions to the world. Also, medical and nursing officers from the SDF currently provide support in the medical center of the Prime Minister’s Office.

I am sure that the domestic popularity of the members of the SDF is evidence that they have continued to serve the people with great dedication.

Of course, this is not limited to only within Japan. We dispatched the SDF to the Philippines to provide assistance after the damage caused by a recent typhoon. When information about this was posted on the English version of the Prime Minister’s Office’s Facebook page, we received more than 184,000 “Likes” from around the world. On our English Facebook page, the average number of “Likes” per post is around 400. If this number exceeds 3,000, naturally the post ranks in the top ten. So clearly this particular post was overwhelmingly popular on our English Facebook page, with by far the most “Likes” to date.

I feel proud that the SDF is so highly evaluated, both in Japan and internationally.

With the current security environment surrounding Japan becoming increasingly severe, we must all work together as one and thoroughly combine our strengths, even more than we have up until now. 

The top priority for the SDF is to serve the people and to protect the lives of the people. As a result of its unstinting efforts during the past 60 years, despite sometimes having to endure baseless criticism, the SDF has now become the organization most trusted by the people.

I am sure that this is the fruit of all the members of the SDF working hard on the ground every single day of the year.

As the Chief Commanding Officer of the SDF, I feel a great sense of pride. I would like to continue to work closely as one with all of you, to protect the lives and peaceful  livelihoods of the people. I ask for your continued kind cooperation. Thank you.”