A Potential Foreign Legion for Japan and South Korea Amid Military Shortfalls from Demographic Decline

South Korea and Japan are two major regional military powers with capabilities, defense industries, and well-trained forces that many nations cannot compete with. Still, both Seoul and Tokyo are facing existential threats not only abroad but also at home.

A major demographic crisis has already negatively affected both Japan’s and South Korea’s economies, leaving gaps in each country’s labor force. Now, the same turmoil is affecting the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces (ROK military).

Needing to adjust to population declines and the reconstruction of critical units, South Korea and Japan both need recruits to fill crucial gaps in their defense apparatus. Foreign legions from France and Spain have helped immensely, filling important roles in each respective armed force, and could potentially be considered for Japan and South Korea.

South Korea’s and Japan’s Demographics Crisis Now Intertwines with Defense

Japan is currently in a major remilitarization of its military apparatus as regional threats from China, North Korea, and Russia threaten Tokyo’s maritime security. Nevertheless, gaps in filling billets and other critical positions in the military and civil defense sector hinder the future sustainment of the JSDF.

According to data from the EastWest Center, the JSDF has failed to meet its recruiting targets since 2014. Recruitment has become difficult due to the lack of replacement birthrates since 1974, with shortfalls also in female recruits. Women currently make up 8.7% of the JSDF, whereas NATO members average 11% of their service members being women.

South Korea, like Japan, is expecting a major decrease in active-duty personnel in the next few decades. With the world’s lowest birthrates, the ROK military has already downsized since the 1970s, with further reductions expected. According to the Korean Times, the ROK military is likely to decrease from 450,000 to 270,000 by 2040.

The lack of retention and birth rates in the ROK military is having a profound effect on the Korean Peninsula, as the North Korean military (KPA) can maintain 1.1 million troops due to Pyongyang’s totalitarian conscription system. According to the Korean Institute for Defense Analyses, South Korea will need to keep an active-duty armed force of 500,000 to repel a potential invasion from the North.
Needing alternatives to a demographic crisis with no end in sight for both the JSDF and ROK militaries, an alternative approach could be the deployment of foreign legions to help supplement manpower shortages and mitigate gaps in the armed forces.

Plugging a Gap with Enacting a Foreign Legion

The first deployment of international recruits into the regular army came from France in 1831, when it needed additional forces to supplement its conquest of Algeria, and was named the French Foreign Legion (FFL/la Légion). Since the conquest, Paris has continuously accepted foreign recruits into la Légion as long as they have no history of violent crime and hold valid documents.

Akin to FFL, Spain also implements its own hybrid international fighting force. The Spanish Legion differs from the FFL/la Légion in that Madrid primarily recruits citizens of Spain and former Spanish-speaking colonial territories.

Both France and Spain deploy their foreign legions for expeditionary operations in combat, peacekeeping, and rapid reaction missions. Furthermore, Paris and Madrid implement rigorous selection and training processes to ensure legionnaires meet the highest standards of any other professional force in the French and Spanish militaries.

How the Foreign Legion Could Be Enacted

A potential foreign legion for both South Korea and Japan should be organized as a brigade-level subcomponent of the JSDF and the ROK military. With South Korea and Japan cooperating with NATO, the Western brigade size of 3,000 to 5,000 troops would match the unit size of the French and Spanish foreign legions.

Recruitment for a foreign legion will be a sensitive subject for Seoul and Tokyo, given the strict conservative societies they are part of, which prioritize cultural norms. As the JSDF and ROK military have close ties with Western countries, recruitment could start in North America and Europe.

For Japan and South Korea, recruitment with American citizens would be a top priority, especially with recently discharged veterans with honorable service who wish to work and emigrate overseas. With the United States being the top ally of both nations, recruitment in America would be a top choice.

Elsewhere, both South Korea and Japan have strategic relationships with Canada, Western Europe, the Nordic states, and Eastern European countries who integrated with the West post-Soviet collapse. Recruiting in these regions wouldn’t be hard as both countries have large diasporas in Canada and Europe.

Furthermore, recruitment for a potential foreign legion could also take place in the Asia-Pacific region, as both Japan and South Korea have close ties with several nations in the area. Japan maintains close defense cooperation with Australia, Taiwan, and others, and South Korea’s history in the Vietnam War can attract recruits from there.

Policy Recommendations within the Conservative Cultural Norms of Tokyo and Seoul

Implementing foreign legions in South Korea and Japan will require meticulous attention to detail and processes, given several barriers that could hinder communication, cultural norms, and assimilation. Ideally, a foreign legion in the two Indo-Pacific nations should require five years of obligated military service with an additional four to six years of residency. Foreign legion recruits will need to demonstrate language proficiency at the Tokyo and Seoul levels.

In Japan, the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) requires the N2 level, which a potential foreign legionnaire would need. JLPT N2 proficiency means you can actively engage in conversations, sign documents, and work in Japanese companies. The JSDF legionnaire brigade commander can mandate proficiency before granting residency or citizenship and can hold continuous classes to train legionnaires.

In South Korea, the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) is required at level 4 to obtain residency and citizenship. Akin to the suggestions for Japan, a ROK foreign legion can implement the same system.

Furthermore, cultural and military history classes should be given to JSDF and ROK legionnaires, focusing only on the rich history of both countries, along with solutions to core socioeconomic problems, as Tokyo and Seoul will appreciate foreigners who can assimilate, adapt, and contribute.

Constructing, let alone implementing, foreign legions to plug gaps in Japanese and South Korean recruitment shortfalls will be challenging and require a major reconstitution of forces, thorough background checks, time commitments, and cultural assimilation into Japan and South Korea. If structured in a way compatible with the JSDF and ROK militaries, a foreign legion for both countries will not only help avert a major demographic collapse in defense but also enhance the capabilities of their forces.