A Maritime Self-Defense Force officer in his 20s attempted to kill himself with a gun aboard a destroyer at the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Saturday morning, the MSDF said.
The officer is believed to have shot himself in the stomach while aboard the Takanami. He is not in life-threatening condition, and the gun was found on the floor nearby, it said.
Guns are normally kept inside an armament locker on the ship, according to the MSDF.
An MSDF sailor committed suicide on a different destroyer earlier this month, a source close to the force said, adding that an internal police unit has been questioning the member's superiors and colleagues in connection with the case.