Japan's military disgraced by series of scandals

By Martin Fritz

WASHINGTON: A series of scandals in the Japanese military has rocked the country, and may have far-reaching consequences. The Japanese Ministry of Defense has announced that it will replace the head of the navy and impose disciplinary measures on more than 200 soldiers and civilians.

The worst set of misconduct charges in years is embarrassing for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has said he wants to strengthen the Japan Self-Defense Forces and prepare it for potential conflicts with China and North Korea through arms purchases and greater cooperation with other nations.

"Betraying the public's trust is absolutely unacceptable, and I deeply apologize," said Defense Minister Minoru Kihara in the Japanese capital Tokyo last week. Almost 220 people have been disciplined. Eleven were dismissed, two demoted, 83 suspended, 14 have had their salaries cut and seven were formally reprimanded. The others received admonishments and warnings.

Around half of the charges involved a lack of discipline with regard to classified information. Many people without security clearance were given access to data on the movement of warships, for instance. "Such sloppy information management undermines trust, especially as the SDF and the US military deepen their cooperation," read an editorial on the English-language news website The Mainchi.

The minor offences are evidence of lax self-control: For example, dozens of navy divers claimed hazard pay equivalent of 250,000 euros ($273,000) for tasks they had not even performed. Superiors intimidated subordinates verbally, even after a special investigation was launched after three officers were convicted of sexually harassing the female soldier Rina Gonoi in 2021.

Navy personnel ate free meals in canteens on military bases without authorization. A special investigation is also currently underway into allegations that defense supplier Kawasaki Heavy Industries bribed submarine crews with electronic goods and beer vouchers. The leader of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, Ryo Sakai, had originally been given a pay cut, but then submitted his resignation last Friday as it became clearer that the scandals disproportionately involved the navy. "I think the root cause is the lack of compliance among the troops and governance ability within the organization," he said. He will be replaced by Vice Admiral Akira Saito on 19 July.

Vice Defense Minister Kazuo Masuda and General Yoshihide Yoshida, the Chief of Staff of Japan's Joint Staff, were also reprimanded. Defense Minister Kihara said he would return one month of salary to underline his own responsibility. Prime Minister Kishida backed Kihara and apologized. "I recognize that the situation is extremely severe, and in that context, I understand there is no room for error," he said in Washington at the recent NATO summit. The scandals could jeopardize his plans to double defense expenditure to 2% of GDP by 2027 and extend military partnerships with Japan's allies.

"If the government wishes to gain public support and understanding for the increased financial burden stemming from defense spending growth, it must clearly demonstrate a commitment to wiping out collusive practices from all its relations with contractors," said the liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper in an editorial in early July. So far, Kishida has not set a date for when taxes will be increased to finance the extra expenditure.

According to the recently released annual defense white paper, the government has secured 42% of the required 43.3 trillion yen (250 billion euros) for additional defense projects. Japan's allies are likely to be particularly concerned about laxness regarding secrecy in the country's armed forces. In May, a new law came into force that introduces a Western-style clearance system for access to classified information. Previous doubts will now return as to whether Japan can be trusted with sensitive data in the context of closer military cooperation.

Japan and the US plan to set up a joint operations center by the beginning of 2025 to enable integrated command and control of the SDF in times of peace as well as conflict. When asked whether the lack of discipline in maintaining secrecy would jeopardize cooperation, Kihara said Japan would "take radical action to strengthen information security."

He and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa were slated to discuss joint cooperation with their US counterparts this month. On Friday, the Japan Air Force will take part in joint military exercises with the German, French and Spanish air forces in Japan as part of the two-month Pacific Skies 2024. Those with Germany and Spain will take place on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. The German military is also likely to be very interested in ensuring that Japan protects secret military information better.