is a military aerodrome 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 ...

. It is located north northwest of

Kisarazu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is loca ...

in the

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Operations

JGSDF Kisarazu is home to the JGSDF 1st Helicopter Brigade, which is attached to the

Central Readiness Force The was established on March 28, 2007, following the upgrading of the Japanese Defense Ministry from the former Japanese Defense Agency. It was initially based at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Camp Asaka in Nerima, Tokyo. The command s ...

.
/ref> operating as a supporting unit for the 1st Airborne Brigade (Japan), 1st Airborne Brigade and the Japanese Special Forces Group. The base also supports tenant units from the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force The , 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 ( ...

and

Japan Air Self-Defence Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. The JASDF ...

History

Establishment and World War II

Kisarazu Air Field was originally established in 1936 as a base for the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired its first aircraft in ...

, subordinate to the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...

. It was home to the Kisarazu Air Group, the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

's first dedicated land-based bomber unit, which saw extensive combat during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The base was also used for training, and the testing of experimental aircraft, including Japan's first jet-powered aircraft, the Nakajima Kikka.

Postwar period

After the end of World War II, from September 1945 the base was used by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

as "Kisarazu Air Base". In 1956, the base was officially transferred to the control of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

(JASDF) and was used as a training base; although USAF units remained on the base in a tenant capacity until transferred to

Tachikawa Air Base is an aerodrome, airfield in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, Tachikawa, in the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense, it has also served as a civilian airport with ...

in 1961. Subsequently, American assets at Kisarazu came under the control of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. In 1968, the JASDF relocated to

Iruma Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) base located in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, north of western Tokyo, Japan. It was the airfield for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy until 1945, when it became Johnson Air Force ...

, and Kisarazu was transferred to the control of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Remaining United States Navy assets were transferred to

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka or is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operating ...

from 1975, and there is currently no American presence at Kisarazu; however, under the terms of the

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan The more commonly known as the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty in English and as the ''Anpo jōyaku'' or just ''Anpo'' in Japanese, is a treaty that permits the presence of U.S. military bases on Japanese soil, and commits the two nations to defen ...

, Kisarazu Air Field remains available for use by aircraft of the

United States 7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

under the name "Kisarazu Auxiliary Landing Field".

Osprey maintenance hub

In 2014 the Japanese government publicly offered the base as a site for a maintenance hub for maintenance of

V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport aircraft, military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed ...

tiltrotor aircraft operated by the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

from MCAS Futenma in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. The aircraft require maintenance every six years but the Futenma base lacks the facilities to do it. The JGSDF will also be acquiring Ospreys which will be maintained at the facility temporarily before an eventual move to Saga, Japan. Civilians from The Boeing Company and Bell Helicopter will assist JGSDF members conducting the maintenance. Noise level tests were conducted at Kisarazu in October 2016, comparing the Osprey noise to that of a

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

. There was some opposition from local residents. Maintenance of the aircraft was to begin from 2017. An opening ceremony was held on January 12, 2017.MV-22 Osprey Depot-Level Repair Facility Opens in Japan January 13,2017
''navy.mil'' Retrieved February 5, 2017

References

{{authority control Japanese airbases Japan Ground Self-Defense Force bases Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service