Yasushi Matsushita
Yasushi Matsushita | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1955 (age 70–71) |
| Allegiance | Japan |
Branch | Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force |
Service years | 1978–2014 |
Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | Commander of the Self Defense Fleet Commander of the Escort Fleet Commander of the 2nd Escort Flotilla Commander of the Training Squadron |
| Awards | See Awards |
Admiral Yasushi Matsushita (松下泰士, Matsushita Yasushi; born 1955) is a retired Japanese naval officer who served as Commander of the Self Defense Fleet of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) from 2012 to 2014, succeeding Katsutoshi Kawano and himself succeeded in 2014 by Eiichi Funada.[a]
Career
Matsushita was born in Osaka Prefecture in 1955.[1] In March 1978, he graduated from the 22nd class of the National Defense Academy and joined the Maritime Self-Defense Force the same year, completing the 29th class of the Officer Candidate School.[2]
In 1996, he became Commanding Officer of the destroyer Yūgumo. In 2001, he became Commander of the 3rd Escort Division, and in 2005, Commander of the 2nd Escort Flotilla. In 2006, he became Commander of the Training Squadron, and in 2007, Deputy Commandant of the Maritime Self-Defense Force Command and Staff College. In 2009, he became Chief of Staff of the Sasebo District, and later that year, Chief of Staff of the Self-Defense Fleet Command. In 2010, he became Commander of the Escort Fleet.[2]
He became Commander of the Self-Defense Fleet in 2012.[2]
In an interview given after his retirement, Matsushita discussed ballistic-missile-defense policy, recalling that during his time as fleet commander North Korea had generally pre-announced the timing and flight corridor of its "satellite launch" tests, whereas by 2016–17 it had begun launching missiles without warning, complicating Japan's ability to concentrate its defensive readiness.[2]
He retired from the JMSDF in March 2014 and became an advisor in the Electronic Systems Division of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation the same year.[1][2] In 2020, he became a director of the Suikōkai (水交会), a public-interest foundation for former JMSDF and Imperial Japanese Navy officers.[2]
Awards
2nd Defensive Memorial Cordon
3rd Defensive Memorial Cordon
10th Defensive Memorial Cordon
11th Defensive Memorial Cordon
13th Defensive Memorial Cordon
18th Defensive Memorial Cordon
19th Defensive Memorial Cordon
20th Defensive Memorial Cordon
21st Defensive Memorial Cordon
22nd Defensive Memorial Cordon
26th Defensive Memorial Cordon
32nd Defensive Memorial Cordon
33rd Defensive Memorial Cordon
36th Defensive Memorial Cordon
41st Defensive Memorial Cordon
Notes
- ↑ Sources disagree on the ordinal number of this appointment: an interview published by the Japan Self-Defense Forces Supporters Club describes him as the "41st" Commander of the Self-Defense Fleet,[2] while other sourcing used in earlier versions of this article described him as the "46th." This discrepancy is unresolved and should be checked against an authoritative Ministry of Defense source before being stated as fact.