Sacked ex-air force general calls for debate on nukes for deterrence

TOKYO, Dec. 1 Kyodo - The former air force general recently sacked over his controversial essay called for an open debate Monday on whether Japan should acquire nuclear weapons, arguing that such a debate alone would enhance deterrence against nuclear attacks.
''While it would be good to have the issue of whether Japan should have nuclear
weapons discussed, I think that merely by having such a debate (Japan's)
nuclear deterrence would be enhanced,'' former Air Self-Defense Force Chief of
Staff Toshio Tamogami told a news conference in Tokyo.
The retired general, however, stopped short of insisting that Japan go nuclear,
citing difficulties in doing so due to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to
which Japan has adhered.
Under the accord, non-nuclear weapons states like Japan are banned from
manufacturing or acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for peaceful application
of nuclear technology.
Asked hypothetically whether he would have used nuclear weapons against the
United States as a commander with nuclear capacity in 1945, when two Japanese
cities suffered atomic bombings, the former general replied, ''If we were
attacked, then I believe I would do it (retaliate with such weapons).''
On the recently initiated exchanges between Japanese and Chinese defense
officials, Tamogami said the two countries should not necessarily have to reach
a point of agreement to understand each other.
''For Japan and China to understand each other, we have to say to each other
what we have on our minds...It's good enough to know that we have differences
in opinions and to know what they think about,'' he said at the Foreign
Correspondents' Club of Japan.
Tamogami, 60, was relieved of his duties as the top ASDF officer on Oct. 31,
hours after his essay justifying Japan's wartime aggression was made public. He
was forced to retire within days, though without an official reprimand.
During Monday's press conference, the former general reiterated many of his
arguments in the essay, including the justification of Japan's colonization of
its neighbors before and during World War II and the call for the exercise of
Japan's right to collective self-defense.
Tamogami also criticized Japan's postwar history education as focusing too much
on the nation's ''dark'' side, noting that Japan's invasion of other Asian
nations has been taught as a given. Instead, he said, history education should
focus on its ''bright'' side.
''Unless we break out of the winners' historical viewpoint and begin teaching
that Japan was an outstanding nation, Japan's traditional culture will be
broken,'' he said.
Although he was promptly dismissed and forced out of the Self-Defense Forces
after his essay caused a public uproar, Tamogami expressed confidence that his
views have found support among many SDF members. ''They can't state their true
opinions because they have been tightened up (following the incident)...but I
believe many of them support me.''
Tamogami also denied that his essay and subsequent remarks have undermined the
SDF's position, saying, ''Although (my remarks) are said to adversely impact
ministry reforms, historical recognition is a much greater issue.''
The press conference drew hundreds of journalists, both foreign and Japanese,
but some foreign journalists in the audience said they came away disappointed
with Tamogami's presentation.
Sam Jameson, a 72-year-old U.S. journalist, dismissed Tamogami's arguments as
one-sided because they seem to justify Japan's deeds before World War II. He
said the former general would not find many supporters among an American
audience.
Anthony Rowley, a Tokyo correspondent for the Singapore Business Times, said he
was not convinced the retired general had shown a true knowledge of history.
The 69-year-old reporter said there needs to be an ''honest'' debate, hopefully
between the governments concerned, about Japan's deeds and conduct during the
wartime period.
==Kyodo