ID :
28267
Tue, 11/04/2008 - 10:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/28267
The shortlink copeid
Ex-ASDF chief retires under age limit following dismissal
TOKYO, Nov. 3 Kyodo - EDS: UPDATING WITH DETAILS, MORE INFO)
Gen. Toshio Tamogami, who was dismissed last Friday as the Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff over a controversial essay, retired under the age limit Monday, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry described Tamogami's departure as an automatic one for a
60-year-old officer because he was no longer the air force chief, whose
mandatory retirement age is 62, two years above the normal.
Tamogami, for his part, reiterated his view at a press conference Monday,
saying, ''Japan is not an aggressor. It is necessary for Japan to be freed from
a 'masochistic view of history' so it can develop in the 21st century.''
The ministry said it decided to allow Tamogami to retire as he had shown no
inclination toward leaving on his own when he was being interviewed by the
ministry over the issue.
''It's not appropriate to keep him in the general's position'' given that
Tamogami was refusing to cooperate with internal procedures for a possible
disciplinary action on him, a ministry official said.
Tamogami was supposed to have retired from the service when he was sacked
Friday night, but the ministry extended his retirement because of the need to
interview him, according to the ministry.
Tamogami was dismissed from his post over the essay denying Japan waged a war
of aggression against other Asian countries before and during World War II.
The essay examined Japan's wartime policy in China and Korea, then a Japanese
colony, and concluded, ''It is certainly a false accusation to say that our
country was an aggressor nation.''
Meanwhile, Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of
Japan, said Monday night he intends to grill the government for appointing
Tamogami to the top air force post.
''The government's responsibility for appointing him to the ASDF chief of staff
knowing that he had written a similar essay before is grave,'' Ozawa told
reporters.
Ozawa's remark was an apparent reference to a news report that Tamogami had
previously expressed a similar opinion in an internal publication.
Mizuho Fukushima, who heads the opposition Social Democratic Party, reiterated
Monday her intention to request that Tamogami be summoned to appear before the
House of Councillors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for questioning.
''I also want to press the prime minister on his views on history without
fail,'' Fukushima said.
==Kyodo
Gen. Toshio Tamogami, who was dismissed last Friday as the Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff over a controversial essay, retired under the age limit Monday, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry described Tamogami's departure as an automatic one for a
60-year-old officer because he was no longer the air force chief, whose
mandatory retirement age is 62, two years above the normal.
Tamogami, for his part, reiterated his view at a press conference Monday,
saying, ''Japan is not an aggressor. It is necessary for Japan to be freed from
a 'masochistic view of history' so it can develop in the 21st century.''
The ministry said it decided to allow Tamogami to retire as he had shown no
inclination toward leaving on his own when he was being interviewed by the
ministry over the issue.
''It's not appropriate to keep him in the general's position'' given that
Tamogami was refusing to cooperate with internal procedures for a possible
disciplinary action on him, a ministry official said.
Tamogami was supposed to have retired from the service when he was sacked
Friday night, but the ministry extended his retirement because of the need to
interview him, according to the ministry.
Tamogami was dismissed from his post over the essay denying Japan waged a war
of aggression against other Asian countries before and during World War II.
The essay examined Japan's wartime policy in China and Korea, then a Japanese
colony, and concluded, ''It is certainly a false accusation to say that our
country was an aggressor nation.''
Meanwhile, Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of
Japan, said Monday night he intends to grill the government for appointing
Tamogami to the top air force post.
''The government's responsibility for appointing him to the ASDF chief of staff
knowing that he had written a similar essay before is grave,'' Ozawa told
reporters.
Ozawa's remark was an apparent reference to a news report that Tamogami had
previously expressed a similar opinion in an internal publication.
Mizuho Fukushima, who heads the opposition Social Democratic Party, reiterated
Monday her intention to request that Tamogami be summoned to appear before the
House of Councillors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for questioning.
''I also want to press the prime minister on his views on history without
fail,'' Fukushima said.
==Kyodo
