No.2, July 2006No.2, July 2006

Defense Minister at “Two-plus-Two” Meeting

Minister of State for De-

fense Fukushiro Nukaga

visited Washington, D.C.,

from April 30 to May 3. The focal

point of the visit was the Japan-U.S.

Security Consultative Meeting on

May 1—the so-called Two-plus-Two

Meeting. Attending were Nukaga

and Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro

Aso from Japan and Secretary of

State Condoleezza Rice and

Secretary of Defense Donald

Rumsfeld from the United States.

After the meeting two documents, a

joint statement and “United States–

Japan Roadmap for Realignment

Implementation,” were issued.

The participants exchanged views

on the international situation, the

transformation and realignment of

the Japan-U.S. alliance, and Japan’s

humanitarian and reconstruction

assistance in Iraq, and approved

implementation details for the

realignment of U.S. forces in Japan,

which has been the subject of ener-

getic discussion for some time. They

expressed their intention to respon-

sibly address the steady implemen-

tation of specific measures. In regard

to bilateral roles, missions, and capa-

bilities, they confirmed the impor-

tance of cooperation in such areas as

bilateral contingency

planning, information

sharing and intelli-

gence cooperation,

and ballistic missile

defense.

On May 3 Nukaga

met with Rumsfeld

at the Department of

Defense for top-level

defense talks. They

discussed specific ways of advanc-

ing the realignment implementation

agreed on at the May 1 meeting.

Nukaga (right) in conference

News Flash

Members of the Council of the Governorate of Al-

Muthanna, Iraq, as well as mayors and other dignitaries

from Al-Muthanna, visited the Japan Defense Agency

on March 29 and March 30. They paid courtesy calls

on Parliamentary Secretary for Defense Tsuyoshi

Takagi and Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Office Hajime

Massaki, thanking them for the Ground Self-Defense

Force’s assistance activities in Iraq.

Al-Muthanna Leaders’ Visit to Defense Agency Parliamentary Secretary

Takagi (right) greeting a council member An informal discussion

Current

News

Nukaga and Rumsfeld

The “Two-plus-Two” Meeting

N_Japan Defence Fours 4p.qxd 09.3.24 3:37 PM ページ 1

JAPAN DEFENSE AGENCY—Japan Defense Focus

2

TopicsTopicsInauguration of Joint Staff Office

The Joint Staff

Office (JSO), in

charge of joint

operations of

the Ground,

Maritime, and

Air Self-Defense Forces (SDF),

was inaugurated on March 27, thus

completing the shift to a joint oper-

ations system providing a unified

chain of command for all three

services of the SDF. At the inaugu-

ration ceremony that morning,

JSO Chief of Staff Hajime Mas-

saki told those assembled, “ I want

you to aspire to the kind of high-

quality joint operations typical

of—indeed, unique to—the SDF,

reflecting the SDF’s 50 years of

history, tradition, and culture.”

Dispatch of Tenth Iraq Contingent

Japan Defense Agency Parliamen-

tary Secretary for Defense Jiro

Aichi handed over the unit flag to

Colonel Toshihiro Yamanaka,

commander of the tenth Ground

Self-Defense Force contingent to

engage in reconstruction assistance

in Iraq, at a ceremony at Camp

Somagahara, Gunma Prefecture,

on May 6. At a press conference

Colonel Yamanaka said, “We will

carry out reconstruction assist-

ance activities with sincerity as

Japanese, viewing things through

the eyes of the Iraqi people just as

earlier contingents have done.”

The tenth contingent departed

on May 7 and

is commenc-

ing activities in

Samawah incre-

mentally.

On April 18 Ground Staff Office

Chief of Staff Tsutomu Mori de-

livered a letter of thanks to

Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Naiem

Bhatti of the Pakistan Army for

his help in rescuing a Japanese

woman after the devastating earth-

quake in Pakistan last October.

As aftershocks continued,

Lieutenant Colonel Bhatti over-

saw the removal of rubble from a

collapsed building in Islamabad,

the capital. He helped rescue a

Japanese

w o m a n

from the

ruins.

Handing over the unit flag

Letter Thanking Pakistan Army Officer forHelp after Pakistan Earthquake

JSO Chief of Staff Massaki (right)

The inauguration ceremony

Camp Samawah

Chiefs of the ninth and tenth contingents

Lt. Col. Bhatti (left) being commended Bhatti (right) with the letter of thanks

N_Japan Defence Fours 4p.qxd 09.3.24 3:37 PM ページ 2

JAPAN DEFENSE AGENCY—Japan Defense Focus

3

Activities Based on Anti-Terrorism Law

Country SupportJDA InformationJDA InformationJDA Information

Results of Opinion Poll

on SDF and Defense

Issues

An opinion poll on the Self-

Defense Forces (SDF) and

defense issues was carried

out in February. A total of

3,000 adults (20 years and up)

nationwide were surveyed,

and valid responses were

received from 1,657. The

results indicated that the pub-

lic has a high opinion of SDF

activities, with 84.9% of

respondents saying they had

a “good impression” of the

SDF and 90.8% saying they

agreed with SDF disaster-

relief activities overseas—

both record highs (see the

figure). Meanwhile, 66.7% of

respondents said they

thought SDF reconstruction

assistance activities in Iraq

were helping that country’s

recovery.

Since the terrorist attacks in

the United States on Septem-

ber 11, 2001, terrorist inci-

dents in which the involvement of

Al Qaeda or related organizations is

suspected have contin-

ued, such as the London

bombings of July 2005

that killed 52 people.

Japan is now in the

fifth year of activities

based on the Anti-Terror-

ism Special Measures

Law, enacted in the wake

of 9/11. In Afghanistan,

for instance, so far Japan

has provided about $1

billion in assistance to

prevent that country from becoming

a hotbed of terrorism again. This

includes electoral and media assist-

ance to advance the peace process,

aid to improve law and order, and

highway construction and repair and

other forms of reconstruction assist-

ance.

Meanwhile, Japan has dispatched

Maritime Self-Defense Force

(MSDF) ships to the Indian Ocean

to refuel U.S. and other countries’

naval vessels engaged in interdiction

activities. By the end of May this

year MSDF ships had refueled ships

from 11 nations a total of 634 times,

providing 440,000 kiloliters of fuel

altogether—assistance that has

received international acclaim. Air

Self-Defense Force planes have also

been airlifting supplies.

Data File

Impressions of the SDF

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90(%)

Sept

. ’69

Nov.

’72

Oct.

’75

Dec.

’78

Dec.

’81

Nov.

’84

Jan.

’88

Feb.

’91

Jan.

’94

Feb.

’97

Jan.

’00

Jan.

’03

Feb.

’06

68.8

58.9

14.1

24.317.6

13.417.5

16.7

15.619.4

13.4

11.7

10.512.9

10.0

69.2

75.4

71.3

74.3

76.7

67.5

76.880.5

82.2

80.384.9

Good

Bad

Activities Based on Anti-Terrorism Law

A shipboard memorial service

An MSDF escort ship in the Indian Ocean at sunset

A refueling operation

N_Japan Defence Fours 4p.qxd 09.3.24 3:37 PM ページ 3

JAPAN DEFENSE AGENCY—Japan Defense Focus

4

Spotlight

Would you talk about theCambodia and Iraq missions?

I was tense about the Cambodia PKO,

since it was the first overseas dispatch

of GSDF personnel and we knew we

mustn’t fail. I approached the task

with the utmost care. In the light of

GSDF involvement in subsequent

PKOs in Mozambique, the Golan

Heights, and East Timor, the Cam-

bodia PKO marked a turning point,

raising the GSDF to a new stage.

Earlier overseas activities weren’t

without danger, but our activities in

Iraq have involved a totally differ-

ent level of tension. Fortunately, so

far we’ve had no casualties, and as

a member of the GSDF I’m thank-

ful for that.

The reason the GSDF give a

favorable impression when serving

overseas is rigorous attention to see-

ing things through the eyes of the

local people. This may have some-

thing to do with the awareness on

the part of the Self-Defense Forces

[SDF] of the importance of gaining

public understanding that has pre-

vailed ever since their formation 50

years ago—a wish that’s now so

deeply ingrained in the SDF that

it’s part of their DNA. Overseas

activities attract a great deal of

media attention, and I think this has

helped deepen public understand-

ing of the GSDF.

What are your thoughts on thefuture of the GSDF?

In soccer terms, the role of the

GSDF is like that of goalkeeper.

Without this, all is lost. At the same

time, the GSDF needs the capabil-

ities of an all-round player, good at

passing and scoring goals as well.

No matter how much high-tech

equipment we have, in the end it

comes down to hand-to-hand com-

bat. Since the GSDF is made up of

people, my ultimate aim is to build

an organization that values people.

Managing the GSDF, with its five

commanding generals of armies,

within the new joint operations sys-

tem is no easy task, but I’m deter-

mined to ensure a successful

transition.

Tsutomu Mori

Tours of the Japan Defense Agency, or

“Ichigayadai Tours,” are held twice

daily, once in the morning and once in

the afternoon, Monday to Friday. The

duration and course of the morning

and afternoon tours differ. Participants

should report to the reception desk at

the main entrance 20 minutes before

the commencement of the tour, and

must present a passport, driver’s

license, or other photo identification.

Bookings are required and may be

made up to two months in advance.

For detailed information regarding the

tours, contact the Ichigaya Memorial

Hall, Public Information Division,

Secretariat of the Japan Defense

Agency, 5-1, Ichigaya Honmura-cho,

Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8801, Japan;

telephone +81-3-3268-3111 or +81-3-

Interview with Ground Staff OfficeChief of Staff Tsutomu Mori

<<<Tours of Japan Defense Agency <<<

5366-3111, exten-

sion 21904. Infor-

mation is also avail-

able on the Defense

Agency website:

www. jda.go.jp.

Comments regarding Japan Defense Focus

may be sent by e-mail to infojda@jda.go.jp.

Would you tell us somethingabout your career in theGround Self-Defense Force?

I’m often told that I’ve had an

unusual career trajectory within the

Ground Self-Defense Force

[GSDF]. I’ve served in all five

armies of the GSDF, from platoon

leader to army commanding gen-

eral. I’ve also worked in almost

every department of the Ground

Staff Office [GSO]. Many of these

assignments have been brief, but

altogether they’ve enabled me to

see every aspect of the GSDF.

Working alongside personnel in the

field and getting to know local peo-

ple wherever I’ve been posted have

been invaluable experiences.

One of my most unforgettable

tasks was helping plan the 1992

peacekeeping operation [PKO] in

Cambodia. And as GSO chief, I’ve

been responsible for sending off

GSDF units engaged in humani-

tarian and reconstruction assistance

in Iraq from the second contingent

onward, a task I’ve approached

with greater resolve than ever be-

fore.

Informatio

n

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