GeneralKōji Yamazaki (山崎 幸二, Yamazaki Kōji) is a Japanese retired general who served as the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces from April 2019 to March 2023. He previously served as the Chief of the Ground Staff at the JGSDF from August 2017 to March 2019.
Then-Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Koji Yamazaki (right), with Maj. Gen. Takuto Ogasawara (left), Joint Staff College Ministry of Defense Vice Commandant, and Lt. Gen. John L. Doland (middle) of United States Forces Japan during the Japan Joint Staff 10th anniversary ceremony at Hotel Grand Hill, Ichigaya, Japan
Yamazaki graduated from the 27th semester of the Civil Engineering Department of the National Defense Academy of Japan in March 1983, and started his career as a military engineer, and later held various key positions in the engineering field and staff positions. He also served as the Director of the Logistics Management Division, as commander of the 8th Facility Battalion while subsequently serving as the Facility Manager of the 8th Division (Japan) headquarters and as the Sendai garrison commander under the North Eastern Army in March 2001. Yamazaki was also the commanding General of the 4th Engineer Brigade, based in Camp Okubo in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture in 2008. In August 2002, he served at the Affairs Section of the Ground Staff Office, Human Resources Department; and was named as the chief executive of the 1st Personnel Division of the Personnel Division at the Ground Staff Office.
Yamazaki also attended various courses in the country and abroad, as he completed the Ranger Course of the JGSDF, where he is a qualified member of the Special Forces Group and was awarded the JGSDF Ranger Badge. He also completed the CO-OP program, a joint collaboration project of the JGSDF and the United States Army, Japan in 1995, where he was among the first students to complete the course.[1] Then-Colonel Yamazaki also studied at the National War College in Washington, D.C., where he graduated in April 2005. He served as a researcher at the Ground Self-Defense Force Research Division in August 2006, before being named as the Ground Planning Officer in the Equipment Planning Department 4 months later, in December 2006. He was named as the commander of Facility No. 4 and thereafter served as commander of the Okubo Garrison in Camp Okubo in August 2008, and was named as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Western Army in June 2010. He became the Director General, Personnel Department of the Ground Staff Office in July 2012. Yamazaki was named as the commander of the 9th Division in August 2014 before becoming the Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff in March 2015; and became commander of the Northern Army, based at Sapporo in Hokkaidō in July 2016.
On May 19, 2022, General Yamazaki was the first high ranked JSDF officer to attend a NATO Military Chiefs of Defense meeting in Brussels, Belgium, and expanded mutual cooperation efforts between the JSDF and NATO within the global scene.[10] This was also expanded during Yamazaki's meeting with the NATO Chair of the NATO Military Committee Lieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer, where the two leaders collaborated in enhancing Japan's partnership with the NATO alliance.[11] Yamazaki was initially set to retire on 16 January 2022, as he reached his mandatory military retirement age as Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, of 62 years old. Yamazaki's term as Chief of Staff, Joint Staff was extended for 6 months under an ordinance signed by the Ministry of Defense, and is set to last until 15 July 2023.[12] However, his extensions was cut short and he retired from the service on 30 March 2023, where he was replaced by General Yoshihide Yoshida.[13] On 12 July 2023, Yamazaki was appointed to serve as an advisor to the Ministry of Defense, where he replaced Kazuhisa Shimada.[14]
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