noun
person whose conscription fitness could not be determined that year (former Japanese military)
Historical term from the former Japanese military conscription system. Refers to a person whose physical suitability for service could not be assessed in a given year, often due to illness or other temporary conditions, resulting in a deferred classification.
彼は結核のため、その年の徴兵検査で戊種とされた。
He was classified as 戊種 at that year's conscription examination because of tuberculosis.
戊種は、翌年以降に再検査を受けることになっていた。
Those classified as 戊種 were to be re-examined in the following year or later.
丙種 was a lower fitness classification but still allowed for some service; 戊種 was a deferral, not a final classification.
丁種 meant unfit for military service, a permanent exemption, whereas 戊種 was a temporary status pending re-examination.
From the former Japanese military conscription classification system. 戊 (bo) is the fifth of the ten celestial stems, used here as a grade label, and 種 (shu) means 'type' or 'class'.