JMSDF Maizuru Naval Base (舞鶴基地)

Maizuru Naval Base is a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force installation comprising ports and shore facilities dispersed across several districts of Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. Its harbour lies in Maizuru Bay, on the Sea of Japan coast, where a narrow bay mouth and sheltered water permit large numbers of ships to berth. It is the only JMSDF base on the Sea of Japan side of the country. The name is a common usage rather than an official designation.

The base is the main port of the Maizuru District Force, which is responsible for maritime security along most of the Sea of Japan coast, covering an area from the Shimane–Yamaguchi prefectural boundary to the Akita–Aomori boundary. Subordinate elements include the Maizuru Guard, the Maizuru Repair Supply Station, the Maizuru Ammunition Maintenance Supply Station, the Maizuru Education Corps, the Maizuru Base Operations Corps and the 44th Mine Warfare Force. Units of the Fleet Escort Force homeported there include the 3rd Escort Squadron of the 3rd Escort Flotilla and the 14th Escort Squadron, together with the 1st Replenishment-at-Sea Squadron. Aegis destroyers and missile boats have been assigned to Maizuru in connection with the monitoring of North Korean-registered vessels. Fleet Training Command, Communications Command, the JMSDF Criminal Investigation Command, the 4th Technical School, the Maizuru Music Corps and the Kinki Chubu Defense Bureau are also present.

Shore support includes repair and supply facilities, ammunition maintenance and supply, and a torpedo maintenance function; the adjacent bunkering facility has been enlarged. Medical support was provided by the JMSDF Maizuru Hospital, reduced to a clinic in March 2021.

Maizuru Air Base, in the Nagahama district of the city, is the JMSDF's only air base on the Sea of Japan side. Construction of its runway, control tower and hangars on a site of about 220,000 m2 began in 1996 and was completed in March 2001, ending the practice of flying escort ship helicopters in from Tateyama. The 23rd Air Group, under the 21st Air Group, operates SH-60K patrol helicopters there; SH-60J operations ended in March 2015.

Maizuru Bay was selected as a naval station site by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1889, and the Maizuru Naval District opened in 1901. The present installation dates from 1 August 1952, when the Maizuru District Force was established alongside the Coastal Safety Force, moving from Matsugasaki to Yobe that November.