Captain Ryoko Azuma (東 良子) (born December 10, 1973) is the first woman to become the chief of a warship unit in the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
, abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
. She was also a member of the first female class at the
National Defense Academy of Japan
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
.
Career
After graduating from high school, Azuma entered the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1992, where she was one of the first women to enter the academy. In March 1996, she entered the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
, abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
. She became the vice captain of , and in March 2013 she became the captain of .
Alongside
Miho Otani, she was the first woman to become the captain of a training ship. In 2014 Azuma became the first female captain to conduct a deep sea navigation training. On January 1, 2015, she was official promoted to the rank of
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
. On March 23, 2016, she transferred to the Maritime Staff Office.
On March 6, 2018, she became the commander of , and was the first woman to command a warship squadron for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The squadron is made up of four warships and the helicopter carrier .
On August 5, 2018, she took command of a mission to deal with the pirates in the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
.
See also
*
Misa Matsushima
First Lieutenant (born ) is the first female fighter pilot in Japan.
Matsushima graduated from the Japan National Defense Academy in March 2014 and obtained her pilot's license in October 2016. Matsushima initially trained to be a transport an ...
– First woman in the
Japanese Self-Defense Force
The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...
to become a
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azuma, Ryoko
Living people
1973 births
National Defense Academy of Japan alumni
People from Ishikawa Prefecture
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel