Old Ground Self-Defense Force High Mobility Vehicles Turn up in Thailand

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, September 16, 2023

Retired Ground Self-Defense Force high mobility vehicles have turned up in Thailand, the Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The vehicles were sold to a Japanese contractor on the assumption that their chassis would be scrapped. They were subsequently disassembled in Japan and exported to Thailand where they were reassembled.

The government is aware of the situation and plans to launch an investigation.

The GSDF has been using the high mobility vehicle model since fiscal 1993.

When the vehicles have reached the end of their service life, they are meant to be dismantled or destroyed. To ensure the vehicles aren’t used for purposes such as unlawfully entering Self-Defense Force camps, Grand Staff Office rules state that retired vehicles must not be…