is a military aerodrome of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

The , or JGSDF, is the army of Japan. The largest of the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo. The present chief of ground staff is General Yoshifumi Hibako...

 . It is located 1.2 NM north northwest of Kisarazu

Kisarazu, Chiba

is a city located in Chiba, Japan. As of September 2010, Kisarazu has an estimated population of 126,906 and a density of 915 persons per km². The total area was 138.73 km²....

 in the Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Operations

JGSDF Kisarazu is home to the JGSDF 1st Helicopter Brigade

1st Helicopter Brigade

The is based at the JGSDF Camp Kisarazu in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture. Formerly an independent brigade, it was attached on the Central Readiness Force on March 28, 2007...

, which is attached to the Central Readiness Force

Central Readiness Force

The was recently established on March 28, 2007, following the upgrading of the Japanese Defense Ministry from the former Japanese Defense Agency. Based in Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces Camp Asaka in Nerima, Tokyo, the unit has the capability of responding to any situation in either Japanese...

. operating as a supporting unit for the 1st Airborne Brigade

1st Airborne Brigade (Japan)

The , also known as the Narashino Airborne Brigade , is stationed in the Narashino Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces Base in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. It is part of the Eastern Army in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force...

 and the Japanese Special Forces Group. The base also supports tenant units from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....

 and Japan Air Self-Defence Force

History

Kisarazu Air Field was originally established in 1936 as a base for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...

, subordinate to the Yokosuka Naval District

Yokosuka Naval District

was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula.-History:...

. It was home to the Kisarazu Air Group

Kisarazu Air Group

was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the　Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific campaign of World War II.-History:...

, the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

's first dedicated land-based bomber unit, which saw extensive combat during the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

 and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The base was also used for training, and the testing of experimental aircraft, including Japan's first jet-powered aircraft, the Nakajima Kikka

Nakajima Kikka

|-References:NotesBibliography* Famous Aircraft of the World no.76: Japanese Army Experimental Fighters . Tokyo: Bunrin-Do, August 1976....

.
After the end of World War II, from September 1945 the base was used by the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 as "Kisarazu Air Base". In 1956, the base was officially transferred to the control of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force

Japan Air Self-Defense Force

The , or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems...

 (JASDF) and was used as a training base; although USAF units remained on the base in a tenant capacity until transferred to Tachikawa Air Base in 1961. Subsequently, American assets at Kisarazu came under the control of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. In 1968, the JASDF relocated to Iruma Air Base

Iruma Air Base

is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, north of western Tokyo, Japan.Iruma Air Base is currently home to the Air Defense Command Headquarters Flight Group...

, and Kisarazu was transferred to the control of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
Remaining United States Navy assets were transferred to United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka

U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...

 from 1975, and there is currently no American presence at Kisarazu; however, under the terms of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

, Kisarazu Air Field remains available for use by aircraft of the United States 7th Fleet

United States 7th Fleet

The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...

under the name "Kisarazu Auxiliary Landing Field".