TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's military plans to raise the maximum age for new recruits in a bid to cope with a shrinking pool of potential soldiers due to the country's low birth rate and fast-ageing population.
The maximum age for enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officer applicants will be raised to 32 from 26 from Oct. 1 to secure "a stable supply of Self-Defense Forces (military) personnel amid a declining pool of recruits due to the recently declining birth rate", the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
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