Kōji Yamazaki

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Kōji Yamazaki
GeneralKojiYamazaki.jpg
General Yamazaki as JGSDF Chief
Chief of Staff, Joint Staff
Assumed office
April 1, 2019
Prime MinisterShinzo Abe
Yoshihide Suga
DeputyYasuhiko Suzuki
Preceded byKatsutoshi Kawano
Chief of the Ground Force
In office
August 8, 2017 – March 31, 2019
Prime MinisterShinzo Abe
Preceded byToshiya Okabe
Succeeded byGoro Yuasa
Personal details
Born (1961-01-16) January 16, 1961 (age 60)
Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Alma materNational Defense Academy of Japan
AwardsLegion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg Officer, Legion of Honour
US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png Legion of Merit (Commander)
Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg Meritorious Service Medal
Military service
Allegiance Japan
Branch/service Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Years of service1983–present
RankJGSDF General insignia (b).svg General
CommandsChief of Staff, Joint Staff
Chief of the Ground Staff, JGSDF
Northern Army
Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff
9th Division
Director General, Personnel Department, Ground Staff Office
4th Engineer Brigade

Kōji Yamazaki (山崎 幸二, Yamazaki Kōji) is a Japanese general who serves as the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Before assuming the post in April of 2019, he was the Chief of the Ground Staff at the JGSDF.[1]

Then-Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Koji Yamazaki (right), with Maj. Gen. Takuto Ogasawara (left), Joint Staff College Ministry of Defense Vice Commandant, and Lt. Gen. John L. Doland (middle) of United States Forces Japan during the Japan Joint Staff 10th anniversary ceremony at Hotel Grand Hill, Ichigaya, Japan.

Career[]

Chief of Staff Koji Yamazaki shakes hands with Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson of the III Marine Expeditionary Force (2017)
Gen. Koji Yamazaki, with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley and South Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Park Han-ki at a multilateral meeting at Washington, D.C.

He graduated from the 27th semester of the Civil Engineering Department of the National Defense Academy of Japan in March of 1983, and started his career as a military engineer, and later held various key positions in the engineering field. He also served as the Director of the Logistics Management Division, Logistics Department, and Ground Staff Office, and the was also the commanding General of the 4th Engineer Brigade in 2008.

He completed the Ranger Course of the JGSDF, and also studied at the National War College in Washington, D.C.. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Western Army in 2010; became Director General, Personnel Department, Ground Staff Office in 2012; became commander of the 9th Division in August 2014; became Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff in 2015; and became commander of the Northern Army in 2016.

In 2017, he was appointed Chief of the Ground Staff of the JGSDF, after the resignation of General Toshiya Okabe and former Defense Minister Tomomi Inada amidst claims over a cover up scandal within the Ministry of Defense, exposing the danger Japanese peacekeepers were facing in South Sudan.[2]He was later appointed as the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, in 2019.

Biography[]

  • March 1983: Graduated from the National Defense Academy of Japan (27th term) and joined the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
  • July 1997 (Heisei 9): Promoted to lieutenant colonel
  • March 2001: Commander of the 8th Facility Battalion and Facility Manager of the 8th Division (Japan) headquarters and Sendai garrison commander
  • January 2002 (Heisei 14): promoted to colonel
    • August: Affairs Section, Ground Staff Office, Human Resources Department
  • August 2003: Leader, 1st Personnel Division, Personnel Division, Ground Staff Staff
  • April 2005: With Central Archives (studied in the United States Army War College)
  • August 2006: Ground Self-Defense Force Research Division researcher
    • December: Ground Planning Officer, Equipment Planning Equipment Manager
  • August 1, 2008: Promoted to deputy major general, Commander of Facility No. 4 and Commander of Okubo Garrison
  • June 8, 2010: Deputy Chief of Staff for the Western Army (Japan)
  • July 26, 2012: Director of Human Resources, Ground Staff
  • August 5, 2014: Promotion to lieutenant general, 9th Division (Japan) Commander
  • March 30, 2015: Joint Staff Staff Deputy Director
  • July 1, 2016: Appointed the 36th General Director of the Northern District
  • August 8, 2017: Appointed 35th Chief of Ground Staff
  • April 1, 2019: Became the 6th Chief of Staff, Joint Staff.[3]

Awards[]

Defensive memorial cordons[]

References[]

  1. ^ Share; Twitter. "JGSDF chief visits PH Army counterpart". www.pna.gov.ph.
  2. ^ "Japan's defense minister expected to resign on Friday, media say". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. ^ 防衛省発令（将人事）2019年4月1日 2019年3月19日閲覧
Military offices
Preceded by
Katsutoshi Kawano 		Chief of Staff, Joint Staff
April 1, 2019-present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Toshiya Okabe 		Chief of the Ground Staff
August 8, 2017-March 31, 2019 		Succeeded by
Gorō Yuasa
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