Japan SDF Chief of Staff Yoshihide Yoshida Admitted to Hospital Due to Overfatigue; Will Still be Contactable in Event of Emergency

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:18 JST, February 16, 2024

The Self-Defense Forces’ top uniformed officer Yoshihide Yoshida, who is chief of staff of the Joint Staff, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday due to overfatigue, according to an announcement by the Defense Ministry’s Joint Staff office on the day.

Yoshida will be treated at the Self-Defense Force Central Hospital in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, for the time being, the office said.

While Yoshida is hospitalized, SDF executives and others will still be able to contact him in the event of an emergency, while Kenichiro Nagumo, vice chief of staff of the Joint Staff, will attend meetings and receive guests on his behalf.

Since the beginning of the year, Yoshida has been kept busy with the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, a business trip to the United States in late January and a Japan-U.S. joint drill earlier this month.

Yoshida did not feel well on Thursday morning, so he went to see a doctor before heading to his office.