Further Reading

Order of Battle - Japan Ground Self Defence Force

Director Directly Controled Unit 1st Airborne Brigade
Hokkaido
Northern Army 2nd Army Division 5th Army Division 7th Army Division 11th Army Division	1st Artillery Brigade (Kita Chitose) 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade (Higashi Chitose) 1st Tank Group (Kita Eniwa) 3rd Engineer Brigade (Minami Eniwa)
Honshu
Northeastern Army 6th Army Division 9th Army Division	2nd Artillery Group (Sendai) 5th Antiaircraft Artillery Group (Hachinohe) 2nd Engineer Brigade (Funaoka)
Eastern Army 1st Army Division ___ Army Division 12th Brigade	1st Airborne Brigade (Narashino) 2nd Antiaircraft Artillery Group (Matsudo) 1st Engineer Brigade (Asaka) 1st Training Brigade (Takeyama)
Honshu & Shikoku
Middle Army 3rd Army Division 10th Army Division 13th Brigade 2nd Mixed Group	8th Antiaircraft Artillery Group (Aonogahara) 4th Engineer Brigade (Okubo) 2nd Training Brigade (Otsu)
Kyushu
Western Army 4th Army Division 8th Army Division 1st Mixed Group 15th Brigade	2nd Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade (Iizuka) 3rd Artillery Group (Yufuin) 5th Engineer Brigade (Ogori) 3rd Training Brigade (Ainoura)

During the mid-1990s the GSDF consisted of one armored division, twelve infantry divisions, one airborne brigade, two combined brigades, four training brigades, one artillery brigade with two groups, two air defense brigades with three groups, one helicopter brigade with twenty-four squadrons, and two antitank helicopter platoons.

The GSDF is divided into five regional armies [the JGSDF uses a term that literally translates as "direction party"], each containing two to four divisions, antiaircraft artillery units, and support units. The largest, the Northern Army, is headquartered on Hokkaido, where population and geographic constraints are less limiting than elsewhere. It has four divisions and artillery, antiaircraft artillery, and engineering brigades. The Northeastern Army and the Eastern Army, headquartered in Sendai and Ichikawa, respectively, each has two divisions. The Middle Army [Central Army], headquartered in Itami, has three divisions in addition to a combined brigade located on Shikoku. The Western Army, with two divisions, is headquartered at Kengun and maintains a combined brigade [Mixed Group] on Okinawa.

There are two types of divisions [the JGSDF uses a term that literally translates as "teacher group"] in accordance with the personnel strength. They are a 9,000-man Division and a 7,000-man Division which are composed of a division headquarters, three to four infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a tank battalion and other units. The organization of a division is standardized because of its role of conducting systematic defense operations in any part of Japan.

A brigade is a unit combined with various types of forces, including combat units, such as infantry, armored and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. It is a regionally independent and permanent entity. Though its function is similar to a division in that it possesses the capability to engage in operations on one front, it is smaller than a division in scale and has limited capability. (A division in principle consists of 6,000 to 9,000 personnel, whereas a brigade in principle consists of 3,000 to 4,000 personnel.)