An Educational Institution
When asked about the strongest unit within the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), most would bring up the 1st Airborne Brigade or the mysterious Special Operations Group.
But, despite being relatively unknown, there is another unit that is said to be formidable in its own sense. This is the Fuji School, a special education unit whose role is to support the training of other JGSDF forces.
Located in Shizuoka Prefecture, near the base of the famous Mt. Fuji, the school serves as a specialized institution for training both JGSDF officers and non-commissioned officers in their respective fields, such as infantry, artillery, and armored warfare.
Basically, it is an education center where selected officers and sergeants from across the country can further enhance their skills.
For example, the instructors of the notorious Ranger Training Course are all graduates of the Fuji School’s “Officer Ranger Course.” Becoming an Army Ranger is extremely challenging enough, but training to become an instructor who has to train and supervise such ranger cadets just takes the intensity to whole new level.
The Fuji School Brigade
From an organizational standpoint, the Fuji School is consisted of two major units – the Fuji School Brigade and the Fuji Training Center.
Whilst the specifics regarding the Training Center and its extraordinary reputation will be reserved for a different article, we will ,mainly focus on the Fuji School Brigade.
With approximately 3,000 members and three specialized units (infantry, artillery, and armored), the Fuji School Brigade receives priority access to new equipment due to their educational role.
Consequently, they operate the latest vehicles as education material, including the Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle and AAV-7 amphibious vehicle. Adding to these new equipment, the Brigade is known to be the only unit outside Hokkaido to be provided with the Type 90 tank and the Type 89 infantry fighting vehicle.
Fuji School Brigade’s Type 16 MCV (photo: JGSDF)
At the Fuji School, cadets are given the rare opportunity to command actual units, and it is the role of the Fuji School Brigade to act as either the subordinates or the enemy.
Since the majority of the cadets attending the Fuji School are not accustomed to commanding any large units, the Fuji School Brigade needs to demonstrate flexibility in dealing with the awkwardness and erroneous orders coming from the “shiny commanders.”
Although acquiring lessons from misjudgments are part of the training, it is also important to prevent any accidents, prompting the need to understand beforehand just how much judgment error is acceptable.
Hence, the Fuji School Brigade is expected to not only obey orders as subordinate units, but also be on the safety look out as supervisors.
Main Role In “Fuji Firepower”
In addition to these training support, the Fuji School Brigade has another significant role – participating in the annual Fuji Firepower Exercise or Fuji Firepower Review which is one of the largest ground exercises conducted on Japanese soil.
Many other units also take part in the exercise, but the Fuji School Brigade has always been designated as the main performers, demonstrating their skills in front of both the public crowd and high-ranking officials.
The Fuji Firepower Exercise is also an opportunity to showcase Japanese military prowess to other nations, with quite a few foreign media and military attachés being invited to the spectacle.
Needless to say, failing in front of such a crowd is intolerable reputation wise, requiring the Fuji School Brigade to meet such demands. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the brigade is thought to be a highly capable force.
Nevertheless, recent years have seen the best soldiers being allocated to island defense units, including the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade. As a result, the Fuji School Brigade is said to have diminished its overall might, due to frequent drainage of skilled personnel.
Actual Combat Strength
Finally, let us examine the Fuji School Brigade’s role during wartime.
As discussed earlier, the brigade is primarily meant for educational purposes, acting as a training support unit, and does not anticipate direct combat with the enemy.
That being said, the Fuji School itself falls under the direct command of the Defense Minister, and can be utilized as a mobile force if necessary.
Surely, the Fuji School Brigade has sizable force of rather new vehicles and skilled personnel who are even capable of instructing others.
On the other hand, the brigade is limited in terms of logistics and other rear support capabilities, casting doubt on whether it can actually demonstrate a brigade-sized combat power.
Given these constraints, it is safe to assume that the brigade can contribute to homeland defense as a reserve force at best, with the three specialized units reinforcing other units in their respective field.
In any case, a situation where training units have to be deployed is beyond desperate to say the least. Even if the Fuji School Brigade were available during such scenario, it is unlikely that their existence would turn the tide or have any significant impact on the outcome of the conflict.
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