Rear Admiral Ryoko Azuma (東 良子 ''Azuma Ryōko'') (born December 10, 1973) is the first woman to become the chief of a warship unit in 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 ( ...
. She was also a member of the first female class at 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 ...
.
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
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 ( ...
. She became the vice captain of , and in March 2013 she became the captain of .
Alongside
Miho Otani
Captain Miho Otani (大谷 三穂) (born May 28, 1971) is an officer in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. She was the first woman to become the captain of a naval training vessel and a destroyer. Otani was also a member of the first female ...
, 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
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
. 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 (; ) 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 Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...
in
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
.
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 are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense wi ...
to become a
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azuma, Ryoko
Living people
1973 births
National Defense Academy of Japan alumni
People from Ishikawa Prefecture
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel