The Defense Ministry established in March a new unit dedicated to maritime transportation, called the Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group.

The group's primary mission is to enhance the rapid movement of personnel and the delivery of supplies using transport vessels, with a particular focus on the Nansei island chain in southwestern Japan, a region increasingly threatened by China's expanding naval presence.

The new unit's command is located at the Maritime SDF's Kure Base in Hiroshima Prefecture. Uniquely, most of the unit's personnel are drawn from the Ground SDF.