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Military power of Japan & South Korea

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Japan vs South Korea

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Japan South Korea

Japan is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 377,944 km2 (land boundries: 0 km and costline 29,751 km). The capital of Japan is Tokyo. The number of inhabitants is 125,360,000.

The current Self Defense Force was founded in 1954. Japan has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the USA. Approximately 55,000 US troops and other military assets, including aircraft and naval ships, were stationed in Japan and had exclusive use of more than 80 bases and facilities. In exchange for their use, the US guarantees Japan’s security. The JSDF is equipped with a mix of imported and domestically-produced equipment. The majority of its weapons imports are from the US and some domestically-produced weapons are US-origin and manufactured under license.

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South Korea is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 100,210 km2 (land boundries: 237 km and costline 2,413 km). The capital of South Korea is Seoul. The number of inhabitants is 51,709,098.

US-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty is a cornerstone of South Korea’s security. The Treaty gave the US permission to station land, air, and sea forces in the territory of South Korea. The USA maintained approximately 28,000 military personnel in the country. South Korea has been engaged with NATO through dialogue and security cooperation since 2005 and is considered by NATO to be a global partner. The South Korean military is equipped with a mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons systems. The top foreign weapons supplier is the United States and some domestically-produced systems are built under US license.

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If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

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Military budget: 51 billion $ 44 billion $
Percent of GDP: 1.2% 2.5%

Military budget

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Highest value in the world: 916 billion $ (USA)
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Manpower

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Active personnel: 247,150 555,000
Reserve personnel: 56,100 2,750,000
Available for military: 27,301,443 13,185,794

Active

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Highest value in the world: 2,035,000 (China)
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Land Forces

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Tanks: 1,004 2,606
Armoured fighting vehicles: 3,072 4,380
Total artillery: 623 7,468
Self-propelled artillery: 214 3,040
Rocket artillery: 99 574

Tanks

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Highest value in the world: 12,267 (Russia)
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Air Forces

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Total aircraft: 1,444 1,585
Fighter aircraft: 155 156
Multirole aircraft: 79 371
Attack aircraft: 0 0
Helicopters: 698 757
UCAV (combat drone): 0 0

Total aircraft

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Highest value in the world: 13,175 (USA)
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Navy

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Total naval: 140 195
Aircraftcarriers: 4 2
Destroyers: 36 12
Frigates: 2 18
Corvettes: 6 11
Submarines: 22 22

Total naval

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Highest value in the world: 967 (North Korea)
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Nuclear weapons

Japan

Does not have nuclear weapons.

South Korea

Does not have nuclear weapons.

Military service

Japan

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; mandatory retirement at age 53 for senior enlisted personnel and at 62 years for senior service officers.

South Korea

20-30 years of age for compulsory military service, with middle school education required; minimum conscript service obligation - 21 months (Army, Marines), 23 months (Navy), 24 months (Air Force); 18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; women, in service since 1950, admitted to 7 service branches, including infantry, but excluded from artillery, armor, anti-air, and chaplaincy corps; HIV-positive individuals are exempt from military service.