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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

No.19No.19

The Latest News on the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense ForcesThe Latest News on the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces

JapanDefense Focus

JapanDefense Focus

Ministry of DefenseMinistry of Defense

Cover photographA salvo of smoke grenades fired by Type 90 Battle Tanks at the Fuji Firepower Review

NOVEMBER 2010NOVEMBER 2010

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa made a speech at the 9th IISS “Shangri-La Dialogue”

Secretary-General of the United Nations visits to the Ministry of Defense

Defense Minister Kitazawa met H.E.Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations at the Ministry of Defense.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa giving his speech

On August 4, H.E.Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, who came to Japan to attend peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, held talks with Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa at the Ministry of Defense. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for the dispatch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) for the UN peacekeeping operations of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and exchange views with Defense Minister Kitazawa on future peace keeping missions. Defense Minister Kitazawa said that the administration of the Democratic Party of Japan is decided to handle international contributions in a positive manner. This was the first time that the UN Secretary-General visited the Ministry of Defense.

On June 5, the Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa attended the 9th IISS Asia Security Summit (the Shangri-La Dialogue) held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore and he made a speech entitled “Japan’s Policies Regarding the Ocean as a Global Commons.”

At the beginning of the speech, Defense Minister accentuated the fact that Mr.Kan, the incoming Prime Minister at the time, had asked him to attended the summit, and stressed how much the

Kan cabinet valued peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region at an international conference. Then, he touched on the relationship between Japan and the ocean and explained that the ocean had had close connections with Japan’ s security since ancient times, quoting a classic Japanese poem called waka composed some 1,300 years ago. Defense Minister mentioned the history of handling of oceans in the international commu-nity, explaining about the expansions of rights and responsibilities in regard to oceans of each country since the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea took effect in 1994, while stating that the oceans had been acquiring the characteristics as “the global commons” , just like outer space and cyber space, and that multi-lateral cooperation among international and other organizations was necessary to secure its security. Defense Minister Kitazawa also gave examples of achievements of the United States which has secured the safety of the vast ocean that stretches throughout Asia for more than past 60 years, and stated that a close cooperative relationship between Japan and the United States would con-tinue to play an important role in this area.

Regarding efforts to secure the safty of sea-lanes, Defense Minister noted that it would be practical to divide sea-lanes into several sections, and devise security measures according to each area’ s specific circumstances. Then, after describing the situations on terrorism, piracy in various areas of sea and the counter-measures against them, he introduced the specific efforts Japan was making for the maritime security. In conclusion, Defense Minister Kitazawa expressed the intention that Japan would continue to promote various forms of cooperation with the countries in the region, such as capacity-building, joint exercises, participation in the like Pacific Partnership, in addition to Japan’ s own efforts, saying that securing maritime security with the multi-lateral cooperation would produce common interests in international society.

For the full text of Defense Minister’s Speech, see //www.mod.go.jp/j/press/youjin/2010/06/05.html Summary of the speech

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

M E E T I N G S W I T H F O R E I G N L E A D E R S

Japan–Republic of Korea–United States Defense Leaders Hold a Trilateral Meeting

On June 5, Defense Minister Kitazawa, visited Singapore to attend at the 9th IISS Asia Security Summit, held bilateral meetings with Defense Ministers from ROK, Singapore and U.K.

On June 5, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, ROK Minister of National Defense Kim, Tae Young and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates held a trilateral meeting in Singapore. The three defense leaders expressed their firm support for ROK's efforts after the sinking of the ROK naval patrol vessel, and strongly condemned North Korea. They also confirmed the intention to study possible cooperation in areas such as information-sharing and PSI, and agreed that it was necessary to send a message that the three countries would cooperate to deal with against North Korea. Regarding humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and peacekeeping activities, the leaders agreed to further promotie cooperation on joint exercise for humanitarian assistance and disas-ter relief in light of the fact that each country had dispatched troops for reconstruction support after the earthquake in Haiti and the opportuni-ties for the three countries to work together were increasing in the areas such as PKOs. To enhance defense cooperation among the three countries, the ministers and the secretary agreed to consider holding Defense Trilateral Talks on regular basis.

Japan–Korea Defense Ministerial Meeting (with ROK Minister of National Defense, Kim Tae-Young)

Cooperation following the incident of the sinking of ROKnaval patrol vessel

Japan–Korea defense cooperation and exchange

Defense Minister Kitazawa conveyed his grati-tude to Minister Kim for the explanation on the investigation results, and expressed his respect for that the investigation was conducted in a scientific and objective manner. And Minister Kitazawa expressed that North Korea’ s action was not acceptable, and should be condemned in the international community and pledged strong support for the Republic of Korea. Going forward, two ministers confirmed that all related countries including the two countries and the United States would closely continue cooperating to deal with issues of North Korea.

Minister Kim pointed out that there have been increasing opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in various areas, such as PKO operation in Haiti and anti-piracy operations off the Coast of Somalia, and expressed that the cooperation be further deepened. The ministers agreed to hold close exchanges of opinions on common security issues such as nuclear and missile issues of North Korea, the modernization of Chinese military and to take more specific steps for security and defense cooperation.

Attendees at the meeting

Minister Kim, Secretary Gates, and Minister Kitazawa shaking hands

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

Japan–UK Defense Ministerial Meeting (with UK Secretary of State for Defence, the Right Honourable Liam Fox MP)

M E E T I N G S W I T H F O R E I G N L E A D E R S

Regional situation

Defense Minister and Secretary of State for Defence confirmed that defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and the UK have been developing steadily , based on the memo-randum on bilateral defense cooperation in 2004 and a joint statement in 2007. Defense Minister and Secretary of State for Defence reaffirmed that meaningful exchanges were taking place at each level on issues such as defense policies, the regional situation, piracy, and measures against terrorism. The leaders agreed to continue promoting on defense cooperation even after change of government in Japan.

Defense Minister Kitazawa explained that activities by the Chinese Navy were increasing in the East China Sea and the Pacific, and mentioned the incident in which a helicopter from Chinese navy vessel flew near a Maritime Self-Defense Force's vessel. Regarding North Korea, Defense Minister Kitazawa expressed con-cerns on the development of nuclear and ballistic missiles. Defense Minister and Secretary of State for Defence confirmed to continue exchanging their views on the sinking of the ROK naval patrol vessel and cooperating further from now on.

Japan–UK defense cooperation and exchange

Attendees at the meeting

Minister Kitazawa shaking hands with Secretary Fox

Japan–Singapore defensecooperation and exchange

Regional situation

Japan–Singapore Defense Ministerial Meeting (with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Teo Chee Hean)

Defense Minister Kitazawa praised Singapore’s efforts in hosting the annual Shangri-La Dialogue which contributed to mutual understanding and promoting information sharing on security issues. The two ministers concurred to continue promoting defense cooperation and exchanges. Defence Minister Teo, as one of the participating countries in the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, mentioned cooperation between the Maritime Self-Defense Force and other partici-pating countries.

Defense Minister Kitazawa expressed his appre-ciation for ASEAN’ s efforts in establishing the ADMM-Plus, and conveyed his hopes that this framework would serve as the core for security cooperation in the region. The two ministers in talks, together with other attendees

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

Colonel Fukunaga cutting the ribbon at the completion ceremony for the border road repairs

Colonel Fukunaga shaking hands with Commander ofthe ROK engineering unit at the work site

Border Road Repairs in Haiti completed

International Disaster Relief Activities for the Flood Damage in Pakistan

At the complet ion ceremony, Colonel Masashi Fukunaga, the commander of the 2nd unit and other relevant persons made a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of repair and opening of the road. Commander Fukunaga said, “We have completed repairs on this road, which is a vital artery for transporting everyday goods. Hereafter we would like to do our best efforts for reconstruction of Haiti in cooperation with local people.” The repair work of the road began on March 29 and lasted for about two months. A total of 1,700 members engaged in repair works including levee protection work, raising embankments, and rais-ing its base along Lake Ethan in preparation for the rainy season. From May 26, the second unit began new missions of dismantling the collapsed prison and removing the rubble, then removing rubble from inner-city roads in the city from May 31, and dismantling the collapsed tax office building and removing the rubble in Port-au-Prince from June 3. From June 8, the GSDF International Relief Team and the engineering unit of the Republic of Korea (ROK) took charge of the same area in Carrefour region which is at the halfway point

between Port-au-Prince and Léogâne. Japan and ROK units worked together on dismantling the collapsed school building. The national flags of Japan and ROK were painted on the GSDF’s trucks appealing that Japan and ROK cooperated on the reconstruction assistance activities. The jointly carried out dismantling of the school building was completed on July 1. On July 7, the Japan and ROK units and persons of the school held a completion ceremony at the leveled school site, and the children expressed their gratitude through singing songs. In August, the second contingent began being replaced with the third unit (approximately 330 members). The 3rd contingent commanded by Colonel Toshiya Sasaki headed from Japan to Haiti on August 17. Accompanying this replace-ment of unit, the KC-767 aerial refueling and

transport aircraft, Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) made a round trip flight from ASDF Komaki Base, central part of Japan, to Haiti, this was the first actual mission overseas to transport the equipment.

On May 29, the second unit of International Relief Team to Haiti (approximately 350 person-nel) commissioning in the United Nations Stabi-lization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), U.N. PKO, for reconstruction support for the major earthquake in Haiti, completed emergency repair of the road leading into the neighboring Do-minican Republic, and held a completion ceremony inviting relevant local people.

On August 20, based on the International Disaster Relief Law, Defense Minister Kitazawa issued the order to the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Force (GSDF, MSDF, ASDF) to conduct relief activities for the floods that occurred in the northwestern part of Pakistan in late July, which deploys about 500 personnel. Approximately　1,600 people (as of August 31) died and more than 20 millions of people were suffered from flooding. Relief activities were sluggish due to the severing of roads and the collapse of bridges, and the situation deteriorated. Then, H.E. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations visited Pakistan to observe, and announced assistance of about US$27 million, and followingly requested emergency assistance of about US$460 million to the member countries. After receiving a request for assistance from the Government of Pakistan on August 9 (local time),

the Government of Japan dispatched the assesment team comprised of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense from August 13 and examined the situation of the area. On August 19, Defense Minister Kitazawa issued instructions to prepare for the dispatch of SDF personnel, and each service of the SDF proceeded with the necessary preparations. Then on August 20 the Defense Minister issued an operation order for International Disaster Relief Mission. The dispatched units included the International Disaster Relief Air Support Unit in Pakistan (approximately 200 members), GSDF, the Interna-tional Disaster Relief Maritime Transport Unit in Pakistan (approximately 160 members),MSDF, and the First, Second and Third International Disaster Relief Air Transport Unit in Pakistan (approximately 150 members), ASDF. The units

would arrive at the army airbase in Multan in the central Pakistan that would be as the base for relief activities. And three UH-1 multipurpose helicopters were transported to Pakistan by ASDF C-130 transport aircraft. The first of three CH-47JA transport helicopters was transported there by commercial large-size cargo plane and the others were transported there by the MSDF transport vessel “Shimokita”. The 6 helicopters would be used for transportation of relief supplies, personnel and so on in the affected areas. On August 31 two UH-1 multipurpose helicop-ters began its mission for transporting materials, personnel and medical supplies and so on between the Multan army airbase and a material depot located over 100 km away from Multan in the southwest. Members of the dispatch team carrying out on-site

transport activities

A GSDF UH-1 helicopter flying over the flood-stricken area

C U R R E N T N E W S

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

Self-Defense Force aircraft diverted to civilian use. Move toward commencing on system design.

From August 14 to 30, the Ministry of Defense dispatched Colonel Katsunobu Ishibashi, the officer of the Ground Self-Defense Force, as a instructor to the Peacekeeping School (Ecde de Maintien de la Paix) in the Republic of Mali. Colonel Ishibashi had previously been involved in international peace cooperation activities in Cambodia and Nepal, and International Relief Team to Haiti. In recent years, African countries have made efforts to solve various problems on their own strength. This dispatch is not only to widen the efforts for international peace cooperation of the Ministry of Defense and

the Self-Defense Forces, but also to support Africa’s selp-help effort, and consequently to contribute to peace and stability in Africa. In the “Civil-Military Cooperation” course targeted for military and civilian personnel from 16 nations in Africa, Colonel Ishibashi lectured to about 30 attendees (field-grade and company-grade officers, civilians equivalent to the same rank) about the importance of building relation-ships with the local society in international peace cooperation and international disaster relief activities.

On July 15, the MSDF transport vessel “Kunisaki”, having taken part in “Pacific Partnership 2010 (PP10)” hosted by the U.S. Pacific Command, returned to Kure port, and the mission of the two-month PP10 was brought to completion.

On August 20, a report was issued stating that the diversion of aircraft to civilian use be promoted in the Ministry at the meeting whose members included the experts such as professors who had accumulated discussions on the diversion of aircraft developed by the Ministry of Defense to civilian use. At the previous meetings, the members had heard from manufacturers of the targeted aircraft

for diversion to civilian use, such as US-2 amphibious search and rescue plane, and XC-2 next-generation transportation aircraft over the features of these aircraft, the idea of diversion to passengers transportation or multipurpose amphibian plane, and challenges on the estab-lishment of diversion-related export procedures, and deepened discussions. After these discus-sions, the public comment procedure on this matter was implemented. At this final meeting, they concluded their discussions and drafted guidelines the payment method to the govern-ment from the companies implementing the diversion of the aircraft to civilian use for techni-cal document usage and on the disclosure and usage procedure of technical documents which the MOD possesses in order to draw up and embody the system plan for diversion of the technology to civilian use. These aircraft developed by the Ministry of Defense were purchased by the Ministry of Defense only, so the manufactures were affected by the decrease of purchasing number of aircrafts

by the Ministry, arising from difficult financial conditions and other factors. The diversion to civilian use will enable manufactures to secure markets other than the Ministry of Defense, and reduce their dependence on the Ministry. To the Ministry of Defense, the development, production, and sales of aircraft diverted to civil-ian use can contribute to the preservation and /enhancement of defense production and techno-logical infrastructure in Japan. The advantages such as reductions in the procurement costs of aircraft due to mass production, use of mainte-nance facilities for aircraft diverted to civilian use, and so on can also be expected. From now on, the Ministry of Defense would move forward to embody the system design for the diversion, covering issues such as payments from the companies to the government, and tech-nical documents usage in relation to development of diverted aircraft. The relevant Ministries and agencies would work together as a whole to promote and realize the diversion of the aircraft to civilian use.

Colonel Ishibashi conducting a lecture in the Republic ofMali in the Peacekeeping School (Ecde de Maintien de la Paix）

Local people gathering for medical consultations

Participants of the meeting for the diversion experts presenting their professional opinions at the review boardfor the diversion of Ministry of Defense aircraft to civilian use

Medical services being provided by medical officers in the GSDF’s surgical vehicle

Started in 2007, the Pacific Partner-ship is an activity in which vessels, primarily consisting of U.S. Navy vessels, visit countries in the Asia-Pacific region and carry out activities such as medical services and cultural exchanges. Its objectives include to facilitate collabo-ration among the participating nations and to achieve smoother international disaster relief activities, through cooperation among the governments, militaries, international organizations and NGOs and so on. Since 2007, Japan has dispatched several medical officers from the MSDF to carry out investigation and research. This year, Japan participated with the MSDF transport vessel “Kunisaki” (approximately 160 personnel) and medical teams (approx. 40 personnel) from the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces. In close coopera-tion with private organizations such as NGOs (22 persons), they provided medical services (internal medicine and dentistry, etc…) for approximately 1,700 people in Vietnam and approximately 2,700 people in Cambodia. They also conducted cultural exchange activities at local schools, such as Kendo, Taketombo (a T-shaped bamboo toy to fly), Origami and Japanese language classes. In addition to these activities, they offered transportation services for people and materials.

Pacif ic Partnership 2010 concluded

Dispatch of lecturers to the Mali PKO center

T O P I C S

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

Introduction of the Defense White Paper

Directions from the Minister on the reform of the Ministry of Defense

Defense of Japan (Annual White Paper)

On September 10, Defense Minister Kitazawa submitted the Japan’s 2010 defense white paper to the cabinet meeting, The Part I of the white paper describes “Security Environment Sur-rounding Japan,” in Part II, “The Basics of Japan’s Defense Policy and Build-up of Defense Capability,” and “Measures for the Defense of Japan” is described in Part III. Part I describes recent issues in the interna-tional community, including the transfer and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, and regional conflicts, placing the focus on cyber warfare. The situation in each country is mentioned in this section. Regarding North Korea, Part I describes the situation relating to the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and covers the facts the sinking of an ROK naval patrol vessel. On China, this part describes its increase of defense budget, and activities in waters close to Japan. The white paper mentioned that “The lack of transparency of its national defense poli-cies, and the military activities are a matter of concern for the region and the international com-

munity, including Japan, which are to be care-fully analyzed.” While the National Defense Program Guide-lines which will be reviewed in this year, Part II describes, a report of Council on Security and Defense Capabilities in the New Era released in August. This part also covers the budget for FY2010 and overview of primary defense capa-bilities (including current situation of Self-Defense Forces deployment on the Nansei Islands, southwest region in Japan), and the changes of defense-related expenses and com-parison with other countries. Part III describes the 50th anniversary of the revision of the Japan–U.S. Security Treaty and the process for deepening the alliance (Japan-U.S. SCC), and explains the situation of the U.S. Forces realignment since last year. In addi-tion, it describes the Self-Defense Forces activi-ties, such as anti-piracy operations off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, interna-tional activities like the PKO in Haiti, and the dispatches of disaster relief team in Japan, and so on.

Part III introduces the defense cooperation and exchanges held between Japan and other coun-tries, and multi-lateral security dialogues such as the Japan–Australia ACSA and the Shangri-la Dialogue. Furthermore, it explains the personnel, defense production and technological infrastruc-ture that support defense capabilities. With regard to the Reform of the Ministry of Defense, this part describes the background, measures implemented, and the status of the review as of now.

The main aims of the direction on the reform of the Ministry of Defense are to secure the trust of the people of Japan, and to carry out the duties effectively for the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces. With the change in the administration in September 2009, it was decided that the reform of the Min-istry of Defense should be done under renewed discussion by the new government. Based on discussions with experts, Defense Minister Kitazawa issued the directives titled “the centerpiece of deliberation,” indicating the policy for the reform that should be undertaken under the new government on June 3. The Minister’ s directives have clarified that reform of the Ministry should be reviewed from the perspective of the new administration which is committed by people’ s mandate, and on top of advancing with the viewpoint of promoting effective and efficient defense administration, the concrete direction of the review is outlined in the following four items.

1. Reform of the central organization1) In order to ensure the effectiveness of civilian control, it is necessary to

establish an assistant system to the Defense Minister, which utilizes the respective expertise of both uniformed and civilian personnel. While the Internal Bureau will serve as the center for consolidating opinions, it will be appropriate to create a framework that allows the Defense Minister to listen to the organizational opinions from the perspectives of each exper-tise developed among both uniformed and civilian personnel.

Based on these grounds, new deliberations should be made on the unifi-cation of the Internal Bureau and the staff offices within the operational sections and the defense capabilities build-up sections, as well as the merging of civilian personnel and the SDF personnel.

2) Another focus for deliberation is the Correction of problems arising from the two-dimensional organizational structure of the Internal Bureau and the Staff Offices.•In order to avoid the overlap of duties between the Internal Bureau and the Joint Staff in the operational sections, and to speed up decision-making processes while ensuring cooperation among civilian officials and the SDF officers, reviews will be carried out on duties alongside simulations for the respective situations.

•With a view to avoiding inflexible budget allocations and promoting efficiency in the defense capabilities build-up sections, reviews on work duties will be carried out to build up truly effective defense capabilities.

Defense Minister Kitazawa issuing “The Centerpiece of Deliberation ”—Minister’ s directives on the reformof the Ministry of Defense

2. Acquisition Reform•Ensuring fairness and transparency in contracts•Reform of maintenance of equipment•Securing the defense industry and technological infrastructure

3. Securing and Fostering of Human Resources•Securing outstanding personnel•Developing ethical minds and the personnel with discipline•Efforts for establishment of a nursing faculty four-year program

4. Handling of Measures Implemented in the Past to Prevent Recurrence.

•Steps which have been taken to prevent the recurrence of misconduct incidents should be continued

•Review of further measures to be required, based on recent misconduct incidents (such as inappropriate remarks made by officers of the Ground Self-Defense Force and the Air Self-Defense Force contract-rigging bribery case)

T O P I C S

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

On August 31, based on the 28 May 2010 Joint Statement of the Japan–U.S. Security Committee (SCC), the governments of Japan and the United States released the Bilateral Experts Study Group (ExSG) Report on the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma including the configura-tion and construction method for the replacement facility to be relocated in the Henoko-saki area of Camp Schwab. The ExSG studied two plans such as the “V” plan and the “I” plan to locate the replacement facility at the Henoko-saki area in terms of their construction methods, safety, operational requirements, noise impact, effects on the local community, environ-mental concerns, the cost, and construction time-lines, and evaluated the results. In releasing the report, Defense Minister Kitazawa said, “From here I would like to hold

(Anti-piracy operations extended)Based on the “Law on the Penalization of Acts of Piracy and Measures Against Acts of Piracy (Anti-Piracy Measures Law),” the prime Minister approved the extension of anti-piracy measures requested by the Defense Minister on July 16, and the anti-piracy operations were extended for one year from July 24. Following that, the Defense Min-ister Kitazawa issued order for the Self-Defense Forces operation based on the requirement such as activity areas, scale of units, equipment and so on. The one of main reason for extension was that occurrence of piracy activities off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden has remained largely unchanged than before.

The 5th surface unit engaged in escort operation for civilian vessels off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, commenced operations from June 5. The 5th surface unit, the commanding officer, Cap-tain Yasuhiko Shinomura, comprised two destroyers “Murasame” and “Yuugiri,” with about 420 mem-bers. The 6th surface unit (the commanding officer, Captain Shinobu Mifune, Commander of Escort Division 3, with about 420 members and 8 Japan Coast Guard Officers) consisted of two destroyers. The one destroyer “Setogiri” (commanded by Com-mander Masafumi Nishiwaki), departed from MSDF Oominato base in Aomori, northern part of Japan, on August 23, and another destroyer “Makinami” (commanded by Commander Tatsuo Akimoto) departed from MSDF Sasebo Base in Nagasaki, western part of Japan on 26 August. The 6th surface unit arrived at off the coast of Somalia in mid-September to take over the missions.

Operational Activity from June to Septem-ber 20101. Number of escort operations: 38 (The 142nd to

179th escort operations) (The 101st to 138th escort operations under Japan’s Anti-Piracy Measures Law)

2. Number of escorted vessels: 344 (Accumulated total of 1,158 since the commencement of escort operations)

*In the 122nd escort operation finished on 10 August, the number of vessels escorted by the surface units reached 1,000.

[Breakdown]Japanese-registered ships: 1 (Accumulated total of 9)Foreign ships operated by Japanese shipping compa-

further discussions with the local community based on the report in order to verify and validate the results by the next 2+2 meeting.” He stressed to his intention mitigate the burden in Okinawa. In the report, the ExSG evaluated the safety, both plans could meet standards because the routing for both plans would be primarily over water. As for operational requirements, although each plan had one area of elevated operational risk, both plans would meet requirements of U.S. Forces. Regarding the noise impact and environmental concerns, the ExSG evaluated that the I-shaped configuration would result in more overflight of land during instrument approaches and departures from and to the northeast. It also noted that the I-shaped plan would reclaim less sea area than that of the V-shaped plan but the impact on animal and plants habitat remained to be assessed in the future.

As for construction timeline, the ExSG mentioned that the I-shaped plan would take approximately 15 months longer to start construction than the existing V-shaped plan because the I-shaped plan would need a new design and modification of the Environ-mental Impact Assessment. The estimated construction period in the I-shaped plan would be approximately half a year shorter than the V-shaped plan because of the smaller estimated sea area to be reclaimed. However, it concluded that the completion point for the V-shaped plan would be approximately 9 months earlier than the I-shaped plan. The cost of the I-shaped plan was estimated to be about 3% less than for the V-shaped plan due to assumptions concerning the smaller estimated volume of landfill.

nies: 63 (Accumulated total of 284) (Out of the 63 foreign ships, Japanese citizens were on board 4 ships)Foreign ships other than the above: 280 (Accumulated total of 865)(Out of 280 foreign ships, Japanese citizens were on board 3 ships)*The above record does not include the 1st-41st escort operation performed as Maritime Security Activities, which were performed before the establishment of the Anti-Piracy Measures Law.

*If the Anti-Piracy Measures Law had not come into force, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroy-ers would not have been able to legally escort 274 of the 344 escorted vessels (the 274 foreign ships not operated by Japanese shipping companies.)

(Information source)On June 13, destroyer “Murasame,” which was engaged in 144th escort mission, received informa-tion from commercial vessel, which had not joined our convoy, that the commercial vessel was being chased by a suspicious small ship. Then a MSDF helicopter took off from destroyer “Murasame” and confirmed the suspicious small ship which had two outboard engines and was carrying seven passen-gers. Moreover, it visually confirmed that the suspi-cious small ship disposed something in the sea. Later on, Turkish warship took over surveillance activities and the Japanese helicopter returned to patrol operation.

The 3rd air unit, commanded by Commander Masa-hiko Shimizu, consisted of about 150 personnel, had undertaken flight operation in the Gulf of Aden from February 9, finished its about 4 months service on June 6. The operation has been taken over by the 4th air unit, commanded by Captain Yasuharu Kimura, and about 150 personnel.Operational Activity from June to Septem-ber 20101. Number of flights: 85 (Accumulated total of 318)2 .F l igh t hour s : Approx ima te ly 599 hour s (Accumulated total of approximately 2,420 hours)

3. Number of visually confirmed commercial ships: Approximately 6,580 (Accumulated total of approximately 22,300)

4.Number of times information was provided to Japanese destroyers, foreign warships, and/or com-mercial ships: Approximately 870 (Accumulated total of approximately 2,730 times)

(Example of information provided)•On June 2, a MSDF P-3C which was engaged in patrol operations received information from U.S. warship that a Panama-registered commercial ship was attacked by pirates. When the Japanese P-3C arrived at the scene, it confirmed the commercial ship had already been hijacked and reported the situation to the U.S. warship. In addition, the Japa-nese P-3C searched the area around the hijacked commercial ship and did not detect any suspicious boat. Therefore, in reported as such to the U.S. warship.

*According to the news report, this hijacked com-mercial ship l was released on 3 June by the Punt land security forces.

•On June 28, a MSDF P-3C which was engaged in patrol operations received information about hijacked Singapore-registered commercial vessel from German warship. The Japanese P-3C confirmed the situation of the hijacked vessel and reported it to the German warship.

•On August 10, a MSDF P-3C detected a suspicious small boat with contents including a many plastic containers. This information was provided to nearby foreign warship and Danish warship that received information rushed to the suspected boat and conducted an on-board investigation. Later on, they released suspicious boat because there wasn’ t enough evidence of piracy although the boat was strongly suspicious.

•On August 19, a MSDF P-3C detected a Dhow ship with suspicious goods including many drums and a small boat with 8 suspicious passengers, a ladder and two out-board engines. This information was provided to nearby foreign warships, A French ship-based helicopter rushed to the suspected ships and stopped them by firing warning shot toward the bow. Later on, the French warship conducted an on-board inspection, and released them because there was not enough evidence of piracy although the boat was strongly suspicious.

•On August 29, a MSDF P-3C detected a suspicious small boat with goods and people including 7 passengers, a ladder, many plastic containers and two out-board engines. This information was provided to nearby foreign warship and merchant vessels. Later on, a Danish ship-based helicopter confirmed the suspected small boat and the U.S. warship conducted an on-board inspection.

The 5th surface unit commences operations

Replacement by the 4th Air Unit

Anti-Piracy Operations off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden

Futenma Replacement Facility Bilateral Experts Study Group Report

D E F E N S E P O L I C Y

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MINISTRY OF DEFENSEJAPAN DEFENSE FOCUS

Admiral Masahiko Sugimoto, the former Commander in Chief of the Self-Defense Fleet, was appointed as the 30th Chief of Staff, Maritime Self-Defense Force on July 26. We interviewed him on his duties as the Chief of Staff.

―Could you tell us about the duties of the Maritime Staff Office and the Chief of Staff the Maritime Self-Defense Force? The Maritime Staff Office is an important organization that draws up plans relating to the defense and security of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, supports the Defense Minister, and makes decisions on all aspects including unit duties, education and welfare for personnel except joint and unit operations. As the chief of the Maritime Staff Office, my role is to put utmost effort into performing my duties, as well as to support the Defense Minister in various aspects, and to work toward enhancing capabilities of organization. The mission of the Self-Defense Force is to ensure Japan’s peace, independence and safety. However, it is important to defend not only Japan’s territory, but also the surrounding water in order to secure the sea lanes of transportation for trade stability. Currently, 99% of Japan’s trade activity is made by surface transportation. We have a significant role in securing the safety of maritime traffic. In recent years, I think that it has

become particularly important to build the trust in confidence-building with other countries through defense exchanges and defense cooperation, and to constantly create an environment that is free from potential threat.

―Could you tell us your plans in taking up this appointment? Ensuring territory and the surrounding water of Japan is the primary mission for defense of Japan. However, in recent years, there has been increas-ing number of missions such as disaster relief activities in Japan, and international disaster relief activities overseas such as in Pakistan, as well as anti-piracy operations off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. It is my wishes, in taking up this appointment, to strengthen the forces so as to be able to respond adequately to these situations and meet the expectations from people. It will be challenging to strengthen the units in the efficient manner amidst the tight fiscal circumstances, I am ready to do my best.

―Could you tell us about some of the issues faced on the mission? Under the constantly changing international environment, in addition to the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s primary mission of defending Japanese territory and the surrounding water, we have been more increasingly undertaking the missions to be

required to cooperate with the international society, such as operations to ensure freedom in the use of seas, as well as building more stable security environment. In such a circumstance, I believe we have to respond to changes with greater flexibility in various aspects. If we fail to do so, I feel a sense of crisis that our organization may not survive. Henceforth, I believe that it is essential to build up even stronger trust by driving the necessary reforms and changing the organization which be able to respond flexibly to any situations with collecting wisdoms from all personnel in MSDF.

On August 29, the 52nd Fuji Firepower Review of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), was opened to public in the East Fuji Maneuver Area, located in Gotemba City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The Firepower Review using the modernized firepower was observed by 28,000 people includ-ing Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa, Parliamentary Vice-Ministers of Defense Daizo Kusuda and Akihisa Nagashima, General Yoshifumi Hibako, Chief of Staff, GSDF, and General Kenichiro Hokazono, Chief of Staff, Air Self-Defense Forces (ASDF). Lt. General Edward A. Rice Jr., Commander of the US Forces Japan, Major General Francis J. Wiercin-ski, Commander of the US Army Japan, and the general public. On August 29, General Hiroshi Yamamoto, Commandant of the Fuji School served as the official in charge, Major General Masanori Ochi, Commander of the Fuji School Brigade served as the exercise division leader. Approximately 2,400 people consisted mainly by the Fuji School

Brigade’s infantry school regiment, artillery school unit, tank school unit, and reconnaissance school unit also participated in the review. About 80 tanks and armored vehicles, about 80 various artillery, about 30 aircraft, and about 600 other vehicles also took part in. The event continued for about two hours, with the first part of the exercises covering firing against an enemy’s landing operations, and the second part covering firing through the collaboration of various types of units of GSDF. At the beginning of the review, two F2 fighters from 8th Air Wing, ASDF entered at low altitude, and as they climbed and turned steeply, explo-sives went off on the ground. Next, long-range artillery firepower, Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, 155 mm howitzer FH70, and 203 mm self-propelled howitzer gave a firing demonstration. The tracer firing that made the shells explode in midair, by slightly stagger-ing the fire-timing of each artillery draw the silhouette of Mt. Fuji was which depicted in the sky 3 km away from the spectator stands, where the audience applauded with great cheer. After that, 120 mm mortars and other mid-range firepower were fired, and close-range shooting was performed by the infantry’s 84 mm recoilless rifles, 35 mm machine gun on Type 89 infantry fighting vehicles and more. After this, Type 90 tanks made running f ire and the Airborne Brigade demonstrated flying in a group and free drop. In the second part, reconnaissance activities were carried out by reconnaissance unit with

motorcycles that had been airlifted in by UH-1 utility helicopters. As AH-1S anti-tank helicopter and AH-64D attack helicopter provided covering fire, for troops and high mobility vehicles that lifted by UH-60JA utility helicopters and CH-47JA transport helicopters secured the main points while Type 87 reconnaissance and patrol vehicles broke through the enemy’s territory with receiving covering fire from the artillery unit and tanks. In addition, to prevent a counter-attack from the enemy, UH-1 helicopter scattered anti-tank landmines. Type 90 tanks, Type 74 tanks, and Type 89 infantry firing vehicles provided covering fire for an engineering unit that included Type 92 mine-clearance vehicle. In the final, the review ended with conducting a full-forces assault led by the tank company. In the intermission, the US Army Japan mili-tary band gave a musical performance. After the review, the many visitors crowded around the latest New Tank(trial product), which was displayed in the venue for the first time, and took pictures of the tank.

28,000 People enjoy Fuji Firepower Review

30th Chief of Staff, Maritime Self-Defense Force, Admiral, Masahiko Sugimoto

I N T E R V I E W

A Type 90 tank firing

Spectators enjoy the Firepower Review

Chief of Staff, Amiral Sugimoto talking about his plans

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E