Photo/Illutration Maritime Self-Defense Force members at the bridge of a destroyer (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Widespread breaches of protocol in the handling of state secrets within the Self-Defense Forces have come to light, raising serious questions about the state of discipline and professionalism within the organization.

The Defense Ministry has disclosed dozens of cases of sloppy handling of “specially designated secrets” related to national security. The breaches mainly occurred on Maritime SDF vessels.

It is shocking that episodes of this nature have become rampant at the forefront of defense, where information security is crucial. In a July 12 announcement, the ministry cited 58 cases of illegal operations concerning confidential information, including 43 cases of leaks of specially designated secrets.

The MSDF accounted for 45 of these cases, with the majority involving unqualified personnel accessing command bridges and Combat Information Centers (CICs), which deal with top-level secrets. As a result, 113 individuals were disciplined, and Ryo Sakai resigned as the MSDF’s chief of staff to take responsibility.

The Law on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets was enacted in 2013 under the initiative of the Abe administration in the face of strong opposition. This was due to concerns about arbitrary designations of information as state secrets and the potential infringement on the public’s right to know as well as freedom of the press.

The law was promoted as essential for sharing sensitive security information with Japan’s allies, but the continued improper operations by the SDF, which is supposed to maintain trust with these countries, have led to questions about the system’s purpose.

The Diet’s Commissions for Oversight of Information Protection, which were established to monitor the handling of these secrets, must conduct an exhaustive and convincing investigation into the scandal.

In a news conference, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara emphasized that there has been no leakage of secrets to outsiders. The ministry is implementing measures to prevent a recurrence by ensuring that all personnel accessing the CICs undergo suitability assessment.

However, there is a significant shortage of SDF personnel, and it takes more than six months to obtain the qualifications to handle these secrets after passing the suitability assessment.

This raises questions about whether the strict system is not divorced from the reality of front-line SDF operations and how it can be reconciled with the day-to-day demands of flexible response that is essential in this day and age.

During this year’s regular session of the Diet, a law was enacted to introduce a suitability assessment system for handling economic security information and extending mandatory background checks to employees of private-sector companies as well.

The SDF needs to shape up and set an example by implementing corrective measures and tightening internal controls.

The ministry also announced disciplinary actions for other forms of misconduct, including MSDF members attached to two submarine rescue vessels fraudulently receiving a total of 43 million yen in diving allowances and three senior ministry officials disciplined for power harassment. A total of 218 individuals were disciplined.

Additionally, a special defense inspection is continuing into allegations that Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., a leading defense contractor, used slush funds generated through fictitious transactions with subcontractors to provide goods, gift vouchers and wining and dining hospitality to MSDF submarine crews.

The SDF must undertake a sweeping reform to restore discipline among its staff by rooting out misconduct and purging ethical violations.

If the SDF continues being plagued by these problems, it is unlikely that the public will support the government’s proposal to increase defense spending sharply, let alone tax increases to fund it.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 13