Japan Press Weekly

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2026 October 21 - 27 [SDF]

SDF prepares manual for handling combat deaths

The Joint Staff Office of the Self-Defense Forces has created a manual for handling the remains of SDF personnel killed in action, and has conducted drills based on that manual.

This has brought to light the fact that preparations for handling war casualties in the event of a contingency are progressing at a rapid pace.

This was revealed on October 21 in documents obtained by Akahata.

The cover of the 81-page manual depicts seven soldiers carrying a coffin alongside figures who appear to be politicians and military officials saluting the coffin.

However, since most of the manual is blacked out, its contents are unknown. The few visible pages consist of only a small portion of the manual, such as “sample documents” and “relevant laws and regulations”.

The “relevant laws and regulations” pages excerpt provisions from the Civil Code, the Family Register Act, the Mariners Act, and the Medical Practitioners Act. For example, it references Article 15 of the seamen’s law which permits water burial if a person on board a ship dies while the ship is out at sea. It also cites Article 115-4 of the SDF Act which exempts proper cremation-burial procedures if SDF members die during deployments in their area of operations.

Lawyer Inoue Masanobu, an expert on the national security-related legislation, in an Akahata interview said, “In the ongoing Japan-U.S. joint exercise ‘Keen Sword 27’ (October 19-29), civilian medical institutions are being mobilized on a large scale for casualty evacuation drills. Hidden from the general public, preparations for a military contingency are proceeding secretly. We should remain vigilant.”

Past related articles:
> Gov’t plans to raise number of beds at SDF hospitals while cutting number of beds available to general public [June 2, 2026]
> Takaichi Cabinet allocates Y99.4 billion for war injury measures in FY2026 budget proposal [January 31, 2026]