Photo/Illutration Defense Minister Minoru Kihara answers a question at the Lower House National Security Committee on July 30. (Takeshi Iwashita)

A string of scandals involving the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces led to an unprecedented number of people being disciplined, but the exact nature of the wrongdoing was not disclosed until after the end of the Diet's regular session.

And even though deliberative sessions took place during the Diet’s recess, the information that came to light was far from adequate.

We must say the Defense Ministry and the SDF have diminished their accountability to the Diet.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and others were questioned on July 30 by deliberative committees from both the Upper House and Lower House.

One of the main scandals centered on illegal claims by Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel for submarine duty allowances, totaling 53 million yen ($346,800). This came into focus after it was revealed that the defense minister was not told for months about the arrest of four MSDF officers last year on charges including fraud.

The arrests, by SDF police, took place last November. The minister was not informed until mid-July.

That raises a grave question: Is civilian control of the SDF really functioning in Japan?

Because the arrest of the four MSDF personnel was not disclosed publicly, the matter was never brought up in the Diet.

Kihara admitted that his being kept in the dark was "seriously problematic from the standpoint of civilian control of the SDF." But, he added, keeping the scandal quiet was "not (done) out of consideration for its potential impact on legislative discussion."

Was there truly no intent to protect the organization and avoid any political discussion? We are suspicious.

We also have suspicions about the ministry's handling of breaches of the Law on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, in connection with Japan’s security policy.

It was not until three weeks after the end of the regular session of the Diet that the ministry announced 113 SDF officers had been disciplined for appointing personnel with inadequate security clearances to positions where they would have access to specially designated secrets.

The announcement’s timing strongly suggests that it was done to prioritize deliberations of a particular bill, one concerning the assessment of civilians whose work involves information critical to economic security.

Another scandal saw MSDF submarine crew members being wined, dined and given gifts by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. The funds were illicitly pooled through fictitious transactions.

Despite this, the Defense Ministry flatly refused to disclose details, claiming that the matter was under special examination by the Inspector General's Office of Legal Compliance, known as IGO.

Kawasaki Heavy reported the scandal in April, and more than three weeks have passed since the issuance of an IGO directive. This defeated the purpose of holding a deliberative session while the Diet was in recess.

The Diet’s members are the people's elected representatives. The Diet is tasked--in a different way from the Cabinet--with ensuring that the SDF is kept under civilian control.

Unless the Diet can be provided with information swiftly, it cannot fulfill this important responsibility. 

Kihara dismissed calls by opposition parties to resign.

"Now is the time to deal with an old festering wound,” he said. “I do not think that my abandoning my post now is the right way to fulfill my responsibility."

But if Kihara cannot reform the SDF, change the mentality of its personnel and review its institutional culture, it is only natural to expect his resignation.

And Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the supreme commander of the SDF, would be wrong to think that this is none of his business.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 31

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