Scandals in Defense Ministry

Asahi Shimbun reported that the Chief of Staff in Maritime Self-defense Force, Ryo Sakai, would be stepping down as a scandal in dealing with the specially designated secrets (SDS) in his organization was revealed. According to the report, classified national security information has been shared by the staffs of MSDF who are not qualified to access it. It is possible that the breach of classified information was made in other organizations of Japan Self-defense Force, causing a number of resignations of the leaders.

The Specially Designated Secrets Protection Act in 2014 determines that only the people who passed examination for qualification can deal with SDS in diplomacy, defense, anti-espionage and anti-terrorism. The qualification would be made with assessment of personality including crime history, alcoholic habitation, debt or history of mental disease. That kind of security clearance was extended to private sectors with legislation of economic security in this May.

 

Asahi reported that there were a various examples in which staffs who had not cleared the exam dealt with information, such as history of cruising displayed on monitors in the bridge or commanding center of vessels. After MSDF revealed a case this April in which the captain of a destroyer allowed some staffs deal with SDS, it found other examples of the same kind. Those mismanagements have been exercised in more than ten out of all sixty vessels in MSDF.

 

Former administration led by Shinzo Abe introduced the system of security clearance on SDS to enhance security capability of JSDF which would share important information with foreign forces including the United States. However, JSDF was not ready to the new system. There came up a lot of examples after the system was introduced in 2014, in which new staffs on the position of dealing with SDS have not passed the qualification.

 

There are 135 thousand staffs who can deal with specially designated secrets in the government of Japan. Ministry of Defense occupies 122 thousand of them.

 

Asahi previously revealed that Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which receives orders of building submarines from MSDF, has suspectedly been paying for gifts and dinners for the submarine crew for years. The SDF Ethics Act requires the members of JSDF not to use their position for their private interest. Minister of Defense, Minoru Kihara, announced that he would conduct a special inspection.

 

Both mismanagement of SDS and receiving gifts and dinners from contractors undermine the credibility of Ministry of Defense. Fumio Kishida administration is accumulating defense budget, totaling 43 trillion yen, for five years from FY 2023. However, the budget plan can be under pressure for reconsideration as a side effect of scandals in the ministry.

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