TOKYO, April 8 -- Japan wants to significantly boost the number of women in the military by the mid 2030s, the defence ministry has said, as it struggles to convince young people to enlist.

Under a new target set this year, women should account for 13 per cent of troops in Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) by March 2036, up from nine per cent currently, the ministry said.

The recruitment drive comes as the ministry pledged to improve conditions for female personnel in the wake of a widely reported sexual assault scandal in which an ex-soldier used YouTube to share her story after an internal military probe was dropped.

The ministry plans "to promote the active engagement of female personnel" it said in a statement to AFP, emphasising t...