The Yomiuri Shimbun
Confusion continues within the government over the future of a top official at the ministry charged with the security of our nation.
The case in question is Defense Minister Yuriko Koike's plan to get the current Administrative Vice Minister Takemasa Moriya to resign from his post and replace him next month with the minister's secretariat chief, who previously worked for the National Police Agency.
When reports of Koike's plan surfaced in the media, Moriya was visibly upset, complaining he had not been consulted on the matter. Soon after that, he began an effort to have a career defense official, who is currently a bureau chief, named as his successor.
But it is the minister--not the vice minister--who makes personnel decisions. Though there were procedural problems with the way Koike's plan has progressed, Moriya has overstepped his authority by publicly dissenting against his minister.
Koike reportedly tried to contact Moriya late at night by cell phone regarding the personnel change, but was unable to do so. She said this had happened twice in the past.
What would happen at the Defense Ministry in a time of crisis if the minister was unable to get in touch with the vice minister?
Failure to follow procedure
As vice minister, Moriya has seen success on such issues as the realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Japan and the promotion of the Defense Agency to a ministry.
On the other hand, he has held his position for more than four years--an usually lengthy tenure for a vice minister--leading to criticism that the ministry's leadership is stagnant.
For her part, Koike may have thought the timing was right for her to assert her leadership and bring about a radical change within the ministry.
But the matter has been complicated by the defense minister's delay in discussing her plans with such key officials as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki.
Personnel changes involving senior ministry and agency officials are to be decided, as a rule, more than a week before being officially approved by the Cabinet, by the Cabinet Secretariat's panel comprising the chief cabinet secretary and three deputy chief cabinet secretaries.
Koike reportedly tried to schedule the official appointment of a new vice minister for Wednesday. But Koike did not discuss the matter with Shiozaki until Monday.
Shiozaki displayed his irritation and decided to postpone the appointment of a replacement for Moriya, saying the next defense minister, who will take the post in the Cabinet reshuffle scheduled for Aug. 27, should make the decision.
For Koike's plan to be realized, she should have conducted herself in a more prudent, meticulous manner.
Abe capable manager?
Verbal lapses by some Cabinet members and the replacement of four ministers brought about the problems with the quality and disposition of the officials in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration--and the responsibility Abe bears for appointing them.
Some have begun questioning Abe's governance, particularly in connection with such issues as the friction between Shiozaki and Koike and the discord within the Defense Ministry.
Abe, as the head of the Cabinet, is responsible for getting the whole system back in working order.
The Defense Ministry, which was upgraded to its current status in January, is now faced with a variety of serious issues, including whether to extend the term of the Antiterrorism Law and the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
It cannot afford to waste energy over the replacement of the administrative vice minister. It must put an end to the confusion now.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 17, 2007)
(Aug. 17, 2007)
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