The Nippon Teikoku Rikugun is the ground forces of the Japanese Shogunate, and the second largest branch of its armed forces. Although it is a proportionally small force in light of the country's population, the Imperial Japanese Army is backed by its powerful Navy and is used efficiently enough to be highly effective. Its primary arm, the Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai (Tokubetsu for short) is considered the foremost marine unit in the world due to the skill and resolve of its members.