The is a military unit of the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

(JGSDF), based in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. It is known for being a ceremonial guard of honor and public protection unit of the JGSDF. In wartime situations, the company serves as a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

unit.

History

It was established in 1959, following a Cabinet Secretariat decision in August 1957 determining that the SDF would established a Special Guard of Honor. Its first honor guard ceremony was held 1 October 1957, when the company honored Prime Minister

Nobusuke Kishi was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. He is remembered for his exploitative economic management of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in China in the 1930s, ...

during a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

in front of the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery. Three days later, Indian Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

became the first to receive a guard of honor as a foreign guest. The company celebrated its 2,500th honor guard when it welcomed the

Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces The Chief of Defence, formerly the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces (; acronym: ÖB) is the highest ranked professional military officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, and is by NATO terminology the Sweden, Swedish chief of defence, c ...

on 2 March 2015. Prior to performing at a welcoming ceremony, it engages in three days worth of training.

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...

s are the standard rifle for the unit.陸自302保安警務中隊へ62年ぶり「新儀仗銃」授与朝雲新聞(2019年5月30日付) It commonly performs drill routines with cadets from the

National Defense Academy of Japan , abbreviated is the national, four-year university-level service academy aimed to educate and train students who will be serving as officers in the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It is located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. History ...

during the JSDF Marching Festival in November. In October 2015, Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

held an award ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office, during which he said "...that Japan’s Special Guard of Honor is the best in the world".

Duties

Today, it mounts a ceremonial guard when foreign leaders make

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

, usually through being assembled outside the Chōwaden Reception Hall at the

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

or the Prime Minister's Official Residence or Tokyo Haneda Airport. It also provided a ceremonial guard during the Imperial Funeral of

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

in February 1989, the Enthronement Ceremony of

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

in November 1990, and the 26th G8 summit in July 2000.

Structure

The 115-strong company has the following organization: * 1st

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

(three honor guard squads) * 2nd

(three honor guard squads) * 3rd

(three honor guard squads) During ceremonies in the Special Guard of Honor, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Band reinforces the company. In addition a platoon of buglers from the JGSDF reinforces the company during military parades to provide additional accompaniment.

Gallery

File:Defense.gov photo essay 070817-F-0193C-014.jpg, General

Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps General (United States), general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine ...

inspecting the company dressed in its white

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is among the most formal wear, formal type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for official parade (mili ...

. File:General Sverker Göranson visit Japan on March 2015.jpg,

Micael Bydén inspecting the company in March 2015. File:Nakasone and Reagan reviewing troops at arrival ceremony at Palace in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 1986.jpg, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

inspecting the company in 1986. File:Визит Министра обороны России генерала армии Сергея Шойгу в Токио (1).jpg, Members of the company carrying the

Flag of Japan The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner with a red circle at its center. The flag is officially called the but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising Sun. The ...

and the

Flag of Russia The national flag of the Russia, Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 ...

during the visit of Russian General

Sergey Shoygu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Security Council since 2024. He served ...

in 2017.

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 1957 Units and formations of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Guards of honour Military police units and formations