Photo/Illutration Defense Minister Taro Kono, center, sorts through briefing papers with the help of ministry officials on Jan. 17. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Almost a week after Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft headed for the Middle East, the government on Jan. 17 finally responded to questions by lawmakers about the dispatch.

Lawmakers in both chambers of the Diet were unhappy that committee sessions were held not only after the Cabinet approved the mission but also following the departure of two P-3C patrol aircraft on Jan. 11. An MSDF destroyer will also be dispatched in February to the region.

Hiranao Honda of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan asked Defense Minister Taro Kono, “Isn’t that a sign that the government is placing very little importance on Diet debate?”

Both Kono and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attended sessions in committees of the two chambers even though the Diet will not officially open until Jan. 20. They were involved in a total of about five hours of deliberations, the first time such debate on the MSDF dispatch has occurred in the Diet.

The government approved the dispatch under provisions of the law establishing the Defense Ministry that allowed such a deployment for study and research purposes. That meant an order by the defense minister was enough and no Diet approval was required.

The government announced in October that it was considering the MSDF dispatch, but refused to provide details in the extraordinary Diet session held in autumn.

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved the dispatch on Dec. 27 after that session had concluded.

Regarding the criticism about ignoring the Diet, Kono said he would strive to provide thorough explanations starting with the Jan. 17 committee sessions.

The basis for the dispatch was also called into question.

Gen Nakatani, a former defense minister and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said the MSDF members would be extremely limited in their use of weapons should they and their ships find themselves in danger.

Nakatani suggested the passage of a special measures law that clearly outlined what measures SDF members could take to ensure their safety in a region where tensions have heightened between the United States and Iran.

Other lawmakers also raised questions about the need for the dispatch, given that the MSDF members will not be sent into the Persian Gulf or near the Strait of Hormuz where many Japan-related ships navigate.

The lawmakers wanted to know what criteria was used to select the waters for the study and research activities to be conducted by the MSDF.

While government officials said consideration would be given to a special measures law should the need arise, they only repeated past responses regarding the waters where the MSDF will be operating and said heightened tensions in the Middle East called for greater efforts at intelligence-gathering.

Questions were also raised about the possibility of tensions escalating while the MSDF is on its mission.

Kono said the ministry’s current assessment is that there would likely not be further escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran.

“The situation is not one in which the SDF will become involved in armed conflict,” Kono said.

Opposition lawmakers also asked about the possibility that Iran would consider Japan’s sharing of information with the U.S.-led coalition patrolling in the Middle East waters as an antagonistic act.

Kono replied that only general information, such as the type of vessels navigating the waters and their speeds, would be shared and nothing that could immediately be used for military action would be involved.

(This article was written by Ryuichi Yamashita and Yoshitaka Ito.)