Taiwan extends military conscription, a system Japan might want to consider

The United States has been distracted by the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts while Japan is entirely focused on its own domestic scandals and political maneuvering.

Neither country has the will to recognize Taiwan as an “independent, sovereign” country despite that nation’s successful holding of its eighth presidential election since becoming a democracy.

With that backdrop, Taiwan has decided to follow through with its plans to extend compulsory military service for young males from four months to one year in the face of China’s increased diplomatic and military harassment.

On Jan. 25 of last month, the first cohort of 670 new conscripts reported to three military boot camps across Taiwan in the counties of Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan.

The new policy, which was announced in December 2022 and went into effect this year, applies to young men born after Jan. 1, 2005. Overall, 9,127 such conscripts will go through training this year divided into 12 groups.

According to Taiwan’s Army Command Headquarters, boot camp is divided into four phases, starting with basic fitness training. The second stage includes rifle shooting, mechanical training on pistols, other weapons and basic combat training. The third phase will focus on advanced rifle shooting skills, combined combat training, battlefield simulations and nighttime shooting. The final stage features a final assessment of physical combat skills and marksmanship, along with a comprehensive three-day combat exercise.

One top Taiwanese general recently stated that the “training aims to equip conscripts with the ability to obey orders, identify with the nation, be loyal and patriotic and be capable of receiving task-oriented commands.”

After they complete basic training, the conscripts will be assigned to different units. The general explained that when the young men are sent to those units, the army will then conduct assessments of their special skills, including these acquired before entering the military, and take those into account before assigning them to various positions. "That way, in the military, they will be part of a team that makes use of relevant skills,” the officer said.

The new conscripts will join Taiwan’s nearly 170,000-strongactive military force, which comprises mostly volunteers. Decades ago, Taiwan sought to switch to an all-volunteer force, but it has found it increasingly difficult to do so.

It is good to see the new policy to bolster Taiwan’s military capabilities, originally announced by President Tsai Ing-wen in December 2022, is on track. Many would argue the policy is long overdue, particularly in the face of constant Chinese military threats and concerns about American reliability.

Taiwan originally had a conscript system with young men serving two to three years, but it was gradually reduced to one year, and then further reduced to a symbolic four months during the Ma Ying-jeou administration — the same former president who visited China last year and recently told Taiwanese voters that China’s Xi Jinping can be trusted.

Interestingly, and more importantly, Tsai’s policy change was backed by wide public support — a 2022 poll found that 73.2% of Taiwanese adults across party lines supported the idea of one year of military service.

While it is debatable as to whether a conscripted force can actually fight compared to an all-volunteer force, as preferred by the United States, Japan and others, it does show that Taiwan is willing to defend itself and is further developing those capabilities. In addition, such recruits will learn critical skill sets that will be beneficial in times of disaster as well.

Conscription also helps to make for a generally healthier population. It should be noted that in the realm of international affairs, countries are more likely to help other nations that are willing to defend themselves.

Some of Japan’s neighbors have been utilizing conscription for years. South Korea, for example, requires a minimum of 18 months of national service. China uses a registration system, like in the United States, but has not needed to make conscription mandatory due to the large number of volunteers it gets.

Japan, on the other hand, rarely attracts enough volunteers and does not even have a registration system, not to mention compulsory military service. As such, there have been a number of people, such as the late governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, and economic analyst Takuro Morinaga who have called for Japan to bring back compulsory national service, but it is generally an unpopular — and controversial — idea.

Some, on the other hand, have called for adopting models like those in Austria and other countries where, in addition to military service, young men have the option of working in hospitals, youth organizations, disaster relief and rescue services, nursing homes and even in prisons.

I, for one, would like to see both options available in Japan with a third included: The right to complete national service requirement by working in schools (there is a lack of teachers or teacher helpers in many areas) and/or working on regional revitalization projects around the country.

Currently, Article 18 (about involuntary servitude) of the Constitution is interpreted to mean no compulsory service is allowed. But with a rapidly declining population and an increasing number of national security threats in the region, it is time that Japan look to what other countries are doing.

Despite discussions over decades, Japan has yet to undertake constitutional revision, in contrast to many countries who have. Germany, for example, proposed such a change in 2022 in the context of defense spending.

Given the political realities in Japan, this is not an easy discussion. But the fact is that Japan no longer has the luxury to ignore upgrading its defense consciousness.

That is especially true when the country whose defense it is most connected to — Taiwan — is doing so as well by extending compulsory military service.