Japan’s 1st Female Fighter Pilot to Debut

August 24, 2018

Miyazaki- -Misa Matsushima is set to become the first female fighter pilot in Japan on Friday, when she is assigned to an Air Self-Defense Force base in southwestern Japan.

The 26-year-old first lieutenant finished the F-15 fighter pilot curriculum at the ASDF's Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture on Thursday.

In an interview, Matsushima said that she had always wanted to be a fighter pilot since she saw the film "Top Gun" when she was an elementary school student.

"I want to meet expectations, for the sake of the women who will follow me," she said.

Matsushima, who is 159 centimeters tall, is a native of Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. She joined the ASDF after graduating from the National Defense Academy in 2014.

Assigning women to pilot fighters had been put on hold due to concerns about the physical burden on fighter pilots, who must withstand up to nine times the normal gravitational pull during missions.

ASDF Col. Osamu Uemori, head of the Fighter Training Group, said that Matsushima had received the same education as that of her male peers. "I hope that she will grow as a pioneer."

In 1993, Japan's Defense Ministry started reviewing its restrictions on the assignments of female SDF personnel. All ASDF posts, including those for fighter jets, became available to women in 2015.

Women still face restrictions in taking up some posts such as those involving nuclear, biological and chemical weapons defense at the Ground SDF and submarine operations at the Maritime SDF due to concerns about maternal health and privacy protection. Jiji Press