THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 17, 2023 at 18:47 JST
Self-Defense Force vehicles leave the Ground SDF’s Hino basic firing range in Gifu city on June 15. (Kazuhiro Nagashima)
An 18-year-old cadet accused of killing two Ground Self-Defense Force members and injuring a third only joined the GSDF in April after sailing through an aptitude test, perplexing investigators seeking to establish a motive for the June 14 shooting.
Defense Ministry sources noted that the suspect showed no outward signs of aggression during four previous firing exercises at the GSDF’s Hino basic firing range in Gifu city.
Investigative sources said the three victims were not in a position of giving out daily instructions to the cadet during basic training. The case is being investigated by Gifu prefectural police as well as GSDF military police.
There was also no apparent contact between the cadet and the three victims outside of the firing exercises.
According to Defense Ministry sources, Master Sgt. Yasuchika Kikumatsu, 52, one of the two officers killed, and Sgt. Yusuke Hara, 25, who was injured, worked at the GSDF’s Camp Moriyama in Nagoya providing rear-line support to cadets, such as compiling their training plans.
Sgt. Kosuke Yashiro, 25, the other fatality, was in charge of instructing a group of four to six cadets during basic training. However, the suspect was not a member of his group.
During the June 14 live-fire training exercise, Yashiro gave out orders to the cadets to fire, while Kikumatsu and Hara stayed in the background handing out bullets to cadets awaiting their turn.
After receiving the bullets, the cadet followed Yashiro’s order to load them into the automatic rifle magazine. But the cadet attached the magazine to the rifle while standing at the back rather than when lined up at the lane to begin the firing exercise.
Because the cadet had not followed instruction, Yashiro tried to stop him. That was when the cadet opened fire at Yashiro, who was standing to his left. The cadet then wheeled around and fired two shots at Kikumatsu and one at Hara. The cadet also fired several shots while other SDF members wrestled him to the ground.
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