Narashino East Airfield

Military Conversion and Demilitarization. The airfield ceased operations as a fixed-wing base for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II. The Imperial Japanese military was dissolved, and its facilities, including Narashino Airfield, were decommissioned and taken over by Allied occupation forces. The site was later repurposed for the newly formed Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).

The site of the former Narashino East Airfield is now the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Camp Narashino and the adjacent Narashino Training Area (習志野演習場). The original runways no longer exist. The vast open space is actively used as a parachute drop zone for Japan's premier airborne unit, the 1st Airborne Brigade, which is headquartered at the camp and continues the site's legacy. The area also functions as a landing zone for helicopters, and a modern heliport (JGSDF Narashino Heliport, ICAO: RJTC) operates within the camp grounds. The site is famous for its annual public parachute drop demonstration held in early January.

Narashino Airfield held immense historical importance as the birthplace and primary training center for Japan's elite airborne forces during World War II. It was the home base of the Teishin Shudan (Raiding Group), the Imperial Japanese Army's paratrooper units. Operations at the airfield focused on training for parachute assaults, glider operations, and air transportation. It handled military transport aircraft such as the Mitsubishi Ki-57 and Nakajima Ki-34. Paratroopers who trained at Narashino participated in significant WWII operations, most notably the successful airborne assault on Palembang, Sumatra, in 1942. The airfield was a symbol of Japan's advanced military capabilities in airborne warfare during that era.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening Narashino as a public or commercial fixed-wing airport. The site is an essential, active, and high-security military installation, vital for the training of the JGSDF's 1st Airborne Brigade. Furthermore, it is located within the densely populated urban and suburban landscape of Funabashi and Narashino cities, making any conversion to a civilian airport logistically and politically unfeasible.