Boost civilian control of SDF
(From The Japan Times Nov. 8 issue)

自衛隊に対する文民統制を確保せよ

The Tokyo District Court on Nov. 5 sentenced former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, who served as the Self-Defense Forces' top non-uniformed official from August 2003 through August 2007, to 2 1/2 years in prison for taking bribes worth some ¥12.5 million and ordered him to pay the same amount in penalties. It also found him guilty of perjury for giving false testimony about his bribery allegations as a sworn witness in the Diet. The government, the Defense Ministry and the SDF should seriously reflect upon the court's judgment.

Moriya played key roles in dispatching an Air Self-Defense Force unit to Iraq, drafting plans for the realignment of U.S. forces in Okinawa and other parts of Japan, and upgrading the Defense Agency to ministry status. But he was found to have received bribes, mainly in the form of golf junkets, as a reward for giving favorable treatment to a defense contractor in the procurement of defense equipment, including a U.S.-manufactured engine for the ASDF's next-generation cargo plane.

The case reveals how one person wielded immense power for a long time over the procurement of defense equipment, underscoring the need to strengthen civilian control of uniformed and non-uniformed SDF officials. Politicians must halt the deterioration of civilian control over the SDF.

The Moriya case is just one of a series of irregularities that have damaged the credibility of the SDF and the Defense Ministry. The latest involves an essay written by then- ASDF Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami that deviated from the government's official view and appeared to justify Japan's military aggression against Asian countries.

Although the Defense Ministry removed him from the post, it refrained from taking disciplinary action against him or even questioning him over the essay. Instead, he was allowed to retire and collect a retirement allowance of some ¥60 million. The ministry's actions are unjustifiable. At the very least the government should disclose the past conduct of the general, and explain why he was appointed to the ASDF's top post and why the ministry permitted him to retire rather than discharging him.

東京地裁は守屋武昌・前防衛次官に対し、収賄罪と偽証罪で懲役2年6月、追徴金1250万円の実刑判決を言い渡した。政府、防衛省、自衛隊は判決を重く受け止めるべきだ。

前次官は、軍需専門商社から賄賂を受け、代わりに防衛装備品調達の便宜を図った。一人の人間が長年、防衛装備品調達に影響力をふるった実態が露呈され、自衛隊文武官に対する文民統制強化の必要性が明らかになった。

最近では田母神俊雄・前航空幕僚長がアジア諸国への侵略を正当化するような、政府の見解と異なる内容の論文を発表している。

防衛省は氏を更迭したものの懲戒処分や論文内容の追及はなく、退職金6000万円を支給するというが、言語道断だ。政府は氏の過去の言動を明らかにし、空自トップへの任命理由、解雇でなく退職を許した理由を明らかにすべきだ。