Defense Ministry reform to shift more power to SDF officers

TOKYO, Dec. 22 Kyodo - The Defense Ministry on Monday finalized a basic reform policy for the ministry that will beef up the authority of ranking uniformed officers over the operations of the Self-Defense Forces.
The ministry fell short of including in the basic policy measures to handle
situations similar to the recent issue involving former Air Self-Defense Force
Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami, who was removed from his post after
questioning in an essay the government's position that Japan invaded Asian
neighbors during World War II.
''It is our mission to implement organizational reforms in the direction mapped
out by a panel held at the prime minister's office,'' Vice Defense Minister
Kohei Masuda told a news conference.
In a report issued in July, a government panel of experts on ministry reform
called for empowering SDF officers while lessening the influence of
bureaucrats. It also concluded that civilian control has been fully
internalized by the SDF.
The basic policy, the contents of which are expected to be implemented in the
fiscal year starting in April 2010, will be presented to the panel on Thursday
when it holds a meeting at the prime minister's office.
The panel is expected to discuss what can be done to ensure civilian control,
which critics argue has not been fully implemented, as well as ways to revamp
instruction courses for ranking defense force members.
A report spelling out measures to prevent a recurrence of issues similar to
Tamogami's case will be presented separately to the panel, where the issue of
civilian control is expected to top the agenda, according to another ministry
official.
The ministry is hoping to introduce bills to carry out the organizational
changes to a regular session of the Diet in 2010.
The basic policy represents the second phase of Japan's planned reform of
defense administration in the wake of a spate of scandals involving the
ministry and the SDF, including corruption involving former Vice Defense
Minister Takemasa Moriya.
The policy toes the line recommended in July by the panel.
Under the policy, the ministry's Operational Policy Bureau, a section staffed
by bureaucrats, will be abolished, and the work of managing SDF units will be
transferred to the ministry's Joint Staff Office, made up mostly of ranking
officers.
The officers could then play a leading role in coming up with rules of
engagement, including the conditions for the use of arms.
Officers will also be assigned a deputy director general or junior posts in the
ministry's Defense Policy Bureau to enable their expertise to be directly
reflected in policy planning.
On Monday, Vice Defense Minister Masuda said the ministry hopes to reach a
conclusion as swiftly as possible over a controversial teaching program
initiated by Tamogami in 2003 at the Joint Staff College.
As head of the school, Tamogami invited for the course, titled ''views on
history and the nation,'' academics whose way of thinking has been described by
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada as ''prejudiced toward the extreme right.''
Critics argue views similar to Tamogami's may have found a wide audience among
ranking officers in the years that followed. Hamada has made clear his
intention to consider changes, including abolition of the course.
==Kyodo