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The Japan Self-Defense Forces, or JSDF for short, are basically the Japanese military and includes naval, infantry, and aerial branches. Though the Japanese constitution officially forbids the JSDF from acting aggressively and sees them rather as an “extension of the police” than a proper military, the Japanese budget for the JSDF is the fifth largest military budget in the world.

And now they have their own fan club, which was recently announced along with an accompanying website!

While the JSDF doesn’t always get the best press, they are still working hard on their recruitment campaigns, including everything from moe versions of the three branches to models-in-uniform calendars. Hoping to help the public keep track of the JSDF’s various events and get a better understanding of the Forces, they recently started a fan club!

▼ Join the JSDF, get an anime girlfriend!

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Fan club membership includes access to a website which contains photos and videos of the Forces’ activities, members, and equipment, as well as a calendar of events and a store which is only open to fan club members. And how much are memberships, you ask? Well, there’s no sign up fee and you can either pay 5,000 yen (about US$50) a year or 350 yen (about $3.50) a month–but folks who pay for a year up-front get a limited edition sticker, a membership card and a planned biannual magazine. Both memberships grant you access to the site’s content of downloadable photos and videos.

Unfortunately, it looks like their web designer used an old Geocities layout. Fortunately, there’s no scrolling or blinking text!

▼But that background, oh dear lord, that background!

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There are also plans to hold events limited to fan club members, so if you’re in Japan and you really, really like the JSDF, this might be the thing for you! Or if you have 5,000 yen that you desperately want to get rid of because it’s possessed by evil spirits, this might work too. Either way, there’s something here for a very small, select number of people. But we’re sure they’ll be happy!

Sources: Amebanews, Japan Self-Defense Forces Fan Club
Images: Japan Self-Defense Forces Fan Club,