What exactly were Japanese naval soldiers in WW2?

Question

I heard this term mentioned on the History Channel. Were they marines? I thought that ppl in the navy were called sailors (not soldiers).

Answer 1

Imperial marines.

Answer 2

They were the equivalent of JIN marines. However, do to inter-service rivalry with the army they were never used to their full potential. They were mostly used for static defenses of land-based naval installations, not in the aggressive USMC way.

The Japanese word for navy-"kaigun" literally means sea army and there is no specific term for marines in Japanese, so naval soldiers is probably the best description the history channel could come up with.

Answer 3

I think you are right about them being sailors. The History Channel might have made a mistake when the said Japanese Naval soldiers.

Answer 4

The Imperial Japanese Navy had infantry for special naval landing forces that were often called Japanese marines, but were not trained and equipped for as wide a range of capabilities.