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Nov 2 06:13 AM US/Eastern
NAHA, Japan, Nov. 2 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The U.S. Marines in Japan have ordered U.S. service personnel in Okinawa Prefecture to stay away from residential areas, schools, cemeteries and other public locations in an apparent effort to ease local anger over a slew of incidents involving U.S. military personnel.
The order, issued Friday, also prohibits the U.S. personnel from conducting activities such as cliff diving, bungee jumping and hang gliding.
"Service members found in an off-limits area or participating in a prohibited activity will be in violation of" the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Marines said in a message posted on its website.
According to the order, residential areas are off limits to U.S. service personnel unless they are residents there or they are invited by local residents. The personnel can travel through these areas but they must remain on the provided roadways and sidewalks.
Playgrounds, the baseball field, the fishing boat pier and other locations around the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab at Cape Henoko in the city of Nago are also off limits to the U.S. personnel.
Moreover, burial sites and tombs are off limits as they are "sacred to the Okinawa people." The U.S. personnel are banned from all schools in Okinawa unless they are students or parents of students attending that school or employees of the school, the Marines said.
by Shigemi Sato Shigemi Sato
Sun Nov 2, 3:58 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – Prime Minister Taro Aso came under pressure Sunday to clarify his own position on Japan's colonial past after his government sacked the air force chief for denying Japan's wartime aggression.
Some major newspapers here urged conservative Aso, who took office in September, to state his opinion clearly and to examine why Japan's ruling elite continues to glorify the country's wartime history.
"Why a distorted historical view at the top?" asked a headline in the Mainichi Shimbun's editorial. The Tokyo Shimbun said it wanted to "listen to the premier's perception."
General Toshio Tamogami, chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, was dismissed on Friday after writing in an essay: "It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation."
"We need to realise that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War," the essay said.
Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada fired Tamogami, saying the essay clearly deviated from a 1995 government statement that apologised for Japan's past aggression and its colonial rule in Asia.
Prime Minister Aso criticised the essay by saying: "It is inappropriate, given his position, even if he (Tamogami) expressed the opinion personally."
The controversy has come at a bad time for Aso, who cannot afford a diplomatic faux pas as he struggles to boost his low approval rating ahead of general elections that are due within a year.
China expressed "strong indignation" over the essay, which it said generally justified Japan's action during the war. South Korea called it "a distortion of history, which must not be left unchecked."
The opposition vowed to take the Aso government to task over the issue in the upper house of parliament, which it controls.
"If the essay has raised the fear that Japan may do something again, the blame for that must lie with the whole government," Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, said on Saturday.
Despite its officially pacifist position, Japan has often come in for criticism for internal perceptions of its wartime past, with neighbours closely watching for any sign of a militarist revival.
The Mainichi editorial pointed out that Aso has in the past made remarks that sought to rationalise Japan's colonialism. In 2003, he said Koreans had willingly adopted Japanese names during Japan's 1910-1945 rule of the peninsula because it was advantageous when doing business.
It also recalled how Shinzo Abe, who served as prime minister from 2006-2007 using the theme of Japan as a "beautiful" nation proud of its history, supported the 1995 statement, but refrained from admitting the country's wartime responsibility.
"Such attitudes, words and deeds of politicians are at the root of the problem," the Mainichi said.
The Tokyo Shimbun said it wanted to ask Aso whether he felt the essay was "inappropriate" because of its substance or just because of the way it was presented.
"The premier ought to send a clear message about this as a way to cut off the trouble at its root," it said.
In contrast, the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun said that it would be suppression of free speech if "free, individual historical views are snuffed" in order to keep peace in parliament and save ties with China and South Korea.
November 2, 2008
Leo Lewis, Tokyo
He has been in the job for only five weeks but Taro Aso, Japan’s new Prime Minister, already faces parliamentary censure thanks to an essay in which a top military figure denied that his country had been a wartime aggressor.
The censure motion, which is being considered by the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, would be a potentially destructive attack on Mr Aso. Although the Prime Minister is personally unconnected to the offending essay, such a move would strike at perhaps Mr Aso’s biggest vulnerability, his own outspoken nationalism.
The controversial article, which flatly refutes the idea that Japan acted wrongly in Asia during the 1930s and the lead-up to the Second World War, was entered in an obscure writing competition by Toshio Tamogami, who until Friday was the Chief of Staff of the Air Self Defence Forces.
In his successful quest for the Y3 million (£18,870) essay prize, Mr Tamogami attempted to justify Japan’s behaviour with a spurious collection of evidence. He argued that the United States had trapped Japan into its attack on Pearl Harbor and asserted that many Asian countries now take a positive view of the conflict.
Japan’s occupation of mainland China was perfectly legal, the essay said, and life in Korea under Japanese rule was “very moderate”.
The essay concluded with an unabashed call for Japan to “reclaim its glorious history”, and with the grave warning that “a country that denies its own history is destined to fall”.
The article has already sparked a formal complaint from South Korea and may draw similar condemnation from China. The censure motion is expected to be presented this week and analysts are warning that Japan’s already deadlocked political system will sink yet deeper into dysfunction.
Within Japan, Mr Tamogami is hardly unique in maintaining a rosy view of his country’s imperial past, but his literary outburst takes the controversy to a new level. Military figures are expected to hold their tongues on matters of national policy, particularly where history is concerned, and the essay is viewed a clear breach of that rule.
For the Government of Mr Aso the political problem with the essay arises from the very considerable differences between Mr Tamogami’s take on history and the terms of the so-called “Murayama Apology”.
Framed in 1995 by Tomiichi Murayama, who was then the Prime Minister, and adopted as the official stance of successive Japanese administrations, the statement acknowledges that Japan “caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly those of Asian nations” and goes on to express “feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology”.
Shortly after he sacked Mr Tamogami on Friday night, Yasukazu Hamada, the Defence Minister, said that the former Chief of Staff “must have written things that were his personal opinion, but I wish he had considered his position more seriously”.
Although the Government acted quickly to dismiss Mr Tamogami, the opposition bloc believes it should have done more. “The government can’t put an end to this matter just by dismissing him,” said the Upper House caucus leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
Japan’s relations with its neighbours have only recently thawed after a long and acrimonious stint earlier in the decade that left Beijing and Tokyo barely on speaking terms. Since becoming Prime Minister in September Mr Aso has been at pains to suppress the sort of right-wing outspokenness for which he is notorious.
After persuading most Japanese to expect a general election at the end of October, his decision to postpone it until next year has been taken as a sign of the Prime Minister’s crumbling political strength.
Daily Yomiuri Online
- Tamogami essay sparks criticism in SDF ranks
(Nov. 2, 2008)
Some Self-Defense Forces officers have spoken out against former Air-Self Defense Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami for claiming in an essay that Japan was not an aggressor during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. continued ...
- Essay, Murayama view at odds / Tamogami opinion deviated from official line espoused by ex-PM
(Nov. 2, 2008)
The government dismissed Toshio Tamogami as Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff because his essay deviated from an official statement released in 1995 by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and ran counter to government foreign policy, government sources said. continued ...
- Editorial: ASDF's Tamogami neglected duties
(Nov. 2, 2008)
It was an extremely thoughtless act, committed by someone who forgot his position as the top Air Self-Defense Force officer. continued ...
- ASDF chief to be fired over war essay
(Nov. 1, 2008)
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada announced Friday that he will dismiss Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami over an essay in which he claimed Japan was wrongly defamed as an aggressor country in connection with the war in China and World War II. continued ...
The Japan Times
- Beijing, Seoul rip ASDF chief essay
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008
(Kyodo News) China and South Korea lambasted fired Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami on Saturday for writing an essay denying that Japan waged a war of aggression on other Asian countries before and during World War II, terming the piece a "distortion of history." continued ...
- ASDF chief justifies the war, is axed
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
(Kyodo News) Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Friday night that Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami will be dismissed over his essay justifying Japan's wartime aggression in Asia and urging the country to exercise its right to collective defense. continued ...
Associated Press
- Japan fires air force head for controversial essay
Fri Oct 31, 1:37 pm ET
By SHINO YUASA
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's defense minister dismissed his air force chief on Friday for writing an essay that claimed the country was not an "aggressor" in World War II and was trapped into getting involved in the conflict by the United States. continued ...
- Opposition mulls censure motion against Aso over ex-ASDF chief's essay
Nov 1 11:17 AM US/Eastern
(AP) - TOKYO, Nov. 2 (Kyodo)—The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan will consider presenting a nonbinding censure motion in the opposition-dominated House of Councillors against Prime Minister Taro Aso over a controversial essay written by the nation's top air defense officer, a senior DPJ member said Saturday. continued ...
New York Times
- Japan Fires General Who Said a U.S. ‘Trap’ Led to the Pearl Harbor Attack
Published: October 31, 2008
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
TOKYO — A high-ranking Japanese military official was dismissed Friday for writing an essay stating that the United States had ensnared Japan into World War II, denying that Japan had waged wars of aggression in Asia and justifying Japanese colonialism. continued ...
BBC News
- Japan air force chief faces sack
Page last updated at 15:48 GMT, Friday, 31 October 2008
The head of the Japanese air force is to be sacked after saying the country was not an aggressor in World War II, Japan's defence minister said. continued ...
Daily Yomiuri Online Click
- Government to make larger continental shelf claim
(Daily Yomiuri Online) (Nov. 1, 2008)
The government decided Friday to apply to the United Nations for a huge expansion of seabed areas around the country to be designated as Japan's continental shelves. continued ...
- ASDF chief to be fired over war essay
(Daily Yomiuri Online) (Nov. 1, 2008)
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada announced Friday that he will dismiss Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami over an essay in which he claimed Japan was wrongly defamed as an aggressor country in connection with the war in China and World War II. continued ...
- Yokohama Incident retrial OK'd / Judge says new evidence suggests not-guilty verdict should be handed down
(Daily Yomiuri Online) (Nov. 1, 2008)
YOKOHAMA--The Yokohama District Court on Friday decided to retry a case involving the so-called Yokohama Incident, in which wartime repression infringed upon free speech in Japan, accepting an appeal by the bereaved family of a man convicted of promoting communism. continued ...
- High court upholds rejection of lawsuit against Oe books
(Daily Yomiuri Online) (Nov. 1, 2008)
OSAKA--The Osaka High Court upheld Friday a lower court's rejection of a libel suit filed by two men against Nobel Prize-winning writer Kenzaburo Oe and a publisher over descriptions in two books of mass suicides in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. continued ...
- ANALYSIS / Govt keen to win global race to secure seabed wealth
(Daily Yomiuri Online) (Nov. 1, 2008)
Makoto Miura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
The government's decision Friday to seek recognition of a large increase of Japan's continental shelf area aims at launching full-fledged exploration of seabed resources beneath waters around the country as soon as possible, senior officials said. continued ...
- Aso's dissolution text shelved / Striking speech prepared by secretary no longer to be delivered
(Daily Yomiuri Online) (Nov. 1, 2008)
Prime Minister Taro Aso's announced intention not to dissolve the House of Representatives anytime soon also means the text of the dissolution announcement, prepared by one of his secretaries, has become a speech that will be undelivered for an indefinite period. continued ...
The Asahi Shimbun Click
- Court OKs retrial over wartime law
(The Asahi Shimbun) (IHT/Asahi: November 1,2008)
BY YUSUKE NAGANO
YOKOHAMA--The district court here decided Friday to retry the case of a now-deceased journalist convicted of violating an oppressive wartime law, the latest development in attempts to absolve those wrongly labeled as subversive. continued ...
- EDITORIAL: Election postponed
(The Asahi Shimbun) (IHT/Asahi: November 1,2008)
Prime Minister Taro Aso has apparently decided to postpone calling a Lower House election that was expected to be held as early as late November. continued ...
The Japan Times Click
- ASDF chief justifies the war, is axed
(The Japan Times) Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
(Kyodo News) Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Friday night that Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami will be dismissed over his essay justifying Japan's wartime aggression in Asia and urging the country to exercise its right to collective defense. continued ...
- Japan extends claim to undersea territory
(The Japan Times) Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
By JUN HONGO, Staff writer
Japan will file a request with a U.N. commission to claim rights to continental shelves in the Pacific Ocean beyond its Exclusive Economic Zone in hopes of tapping into greater undersea natural resources, a government panel on ocean policies said Friday. continued ...
- Yokohama Incident retrial OK'd
(The Japan Times) Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
Japan's worst case of wartime repression of free speech to be revisited
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) The Yokohama District Court said Friday it will retry a case in the so-called Yokohama Incident, Japan's worst wartime repression of free speech, accepting a petition filed by relatives of a late journalist convicted in the case. continued ...
- Aso is pop star's wedding guest
(The Japan Times) Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
By MINORU MATSUTANI, Staff writer
Shortly after announcing the high-profile economic stimulus package worth ¥27 trillion Thursday, Prime Minister Taro Aso rushed off to attend actress Shoko Aida's wedding reception that night. continued ...
- MSDF to target ICBM warhead in test
(The Japan Times) Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
HONOLULU (AP) A Maritime Self-Defense Force warship will attempt to shoot down a separating missile warhead in a ballistic missile defense test off Hawaii next month. continued ...
- U.S. candidates vow to 're-engage' Japan
(The Japan Times) Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
By ERIC JOHNSTON, Staff writer
OSAKA — Eight years ago, on the eve of the 2000 U.S. presidential election, a bipartisan group of Washington experts released the Armitage Report, named after Richard Armitage, one of the main authors and an eventual deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush. continued ...
The Mainichi Daily News Click
Kyodo
- S. Korea, China criticize ex-Japan air force chief over war essay
Nov 1 09:16 AM US/Eastern
China and South Korea on Saturday denounced Japanese Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami who was fired the previous day for denying in an essay that Japan waged a war of aggression in Asia in the past century. continued ...
- Taiwan group vows to throw eggs at China envoy during landmark visit
Nov 1 04:16 AM US/Eastern
TAIPEI, Nov. 1 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A Taiwanese pro-independence group promised Saturday a reward of up to $300 to anybody who can hit top Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin in the face with an egg, as part of protest activities planned during Chen's landmark trip to Taiwan next week. continued ...
- Tokyo tells Seoul Japan air force chief's essay shows personal view
Nov 1 12:39 AM US/Eastern
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japan has told South Korea that dismissed Japan Air Self- Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami's controversial essay denying Japan's aggression against other Asian countries during World War II reflects his personal views, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday. continued ...
- Japan air force chief fired over controversial essay
Oct 31 11:46 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Nov. 1 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday dismissed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami over his controversial essay denying Japan's aggression against other Asian countries such as China and Korea before and during World War II. continued ...
Posted: 01 November 2008 1939 hrs
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso came under fire on Saturday from the political opposition after the nation's air force chief was sacked for denying his country was an aggressor in World War II.
Aso's defence minister on Friday sacked General Toshio Tamogami, chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, saying an essay he wrote went against the government's official position.
But the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan warned kicking out Tamogami was not enough.
"It is a big mistake if Prime Minister Aso thinks it's over after sacking him," DPJ secretary-general Yukio Hatoyama said in a speech in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.
Hatoyama added "the entire government" had to take responsibility for Tamogami's claims.
Tamogami wrote in an essay: "We need to realise that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War. It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation."
The Greater East Asia War was a term used by Japan to describe the conflict in the Asia-Pacific theatre, emphasising that it involved Asian nations seeking independence from the Western powers.
South Korea on Saturday condemned the essay as "a distortion of history, which must not be left unchecked."
Despite its officially pacifist position, Japan has often come under criticism for its perceptions of its wartime past, with neighbours closely watching for any sign of a militarist revival.
China, the two Koreas and other Asian nations still have painful memories of Japan's aggression and colonial rule.
- AFP/yt
November 01 2008 19:22
TOKYO, Nov. 1 KYODO
An essay written by outspoken Japanese air force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami denying the country's wartime aggression in Asia has shocked Prime Minister Taro Aso's government and has raised concerns about civilian control over ranking officers in the Self-Defense Forces.
The controversy surrounding the essay by Tamogami, who was sacked Friday as the Air Self-Defense Force's chief of staff, will inevitably hamper Aso's efforts to promptly win parliamentary approval to continue the refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean.
The essay, made available on Friday, has already affected Japan's diplomacy with other Asian countries. South Korea has reacted sharply, while a shadow is cast over a planned visit by Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada to China by the year-end under an agreement between Japanese and Chinese leaders.
Besides the rhetoric revealed in the essay, Tamogami's failure to properly notify civilian officials in advance of the publication is also likely to fuel public anger at the SDF and the Defense Ministry. Both have scrambled to restore their already damaged confidence following a spate of scandals and problems.
''The essay's content is so poor. I became speechless reading it and cannot understand what he wrote,'' a bureaucrat at the ministry said, blasting the 60-year-old ASDF chief of staff.
A ranking SDF officer voiced concerns that the essay could lead the public to misperceive that many other SDF officers may have similar ideas on the war.
But Tamogami, who became the ASDF chief in March 2007, was known as an outspoken SDF officer even before he wrote the essay titled, ''Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?''
He appeared unafraid to speak his mind on various topics on the defense of Japan, drawing many reporters to his regular press conferences at the ministry and always making his aides nervous.
In April, Tamogami was rebuked by then Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba for using a popular comedian's signature phrase when commenting on a court ruling that judged the ASDF's mission in Iraq was unconstitutional.
Hamada, who took the post in late September, told reporters Friday, expressing displeasure at the essay, ''I heard he (Tamogami) is a man who (always) makes bold remarks.''
''My feeling is similar to yours. I think the essay has parts that are very inappropriate,'' Hamada said. He was referring to the wording that Tamogami used such as, ''It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation.''
Tamogami in the essay also defended the deployment of the former Imperial Japanese Army to mainland China and to the Korean Peninsula during the prewar period, saying, ''Surprisingly, few people are aware that the Japanese army was stationed in these countries on the basis of treaties.''
Hamada voiced hope that the essay will not further provoke other Asian countries, which suffered under Japan before and during World War II, such as China and South Korea.
But the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade released Saturday a statement criticizing Tamogami's essay of ''whitewashing the truth in history.''
Officers and members of the SDF resigned themselves to a lackluster reputation in the public for decades after WWII under the U.S.-drafted Constitution, which renounces war and the maintenance of military forces.
Aversion to wartime militarism also encouraged civilian bureaucrats and parliamentarians to try hard to limit the activities of SDF officers, especially their political behavior.
But Tamogami seemed to challenge the longtime practice among SDF officers of trying to be low-key in public and refrain from making comments, especially on political matters.
''Ms Yuriko Koike, a former defense minister, she nicknamed me a Tom Cruise in the SDF,'' the tough-looking general joked during his lecture at a student-organized event at the University of Tokyo in May, likening himself to the American movie star.
The organizers said Tamogami was the first uniformed SDF officer to speak at the most prestigious university in Japan and his lecture made headlines.
After making the audience burst into laughter, Tamogami went into politically sensitive matters, such as assessments of wars that Japan engaged in Asia before and during WWII and made statements similar to what he wrote in the essay.
''There are many views in Japan, that Japan went to war because it was an aggressive country...But there are many reports (in foreign countries) suggesting that Japan was not. I want you to learn not only the one-sided view in Japan but both,'' Tamogami told nearly 1,000 people.
Tamogami also came under fire for failing to follow an intra-ministry rule on expressing opinions in public when he wrote the essay for a 3-million-yen competition organized by a hotel and condominium developer.
''I didn't know about the essay at all until today,'' Hamada said hours after the essay was made public on the Internet.
The opposition camp is flexing its muscles to attack Aso over the essay during debates in a House of Councillors committee as what Tamogami wrote clearly contradicts the government's position.
The committee session is originally to discuss a government-sponsored bill to continue the MSDF refueling mission next year to help U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan.
But the essay blunder will prompt members from the opposition camp to ask questions about the issue and criticize the government for appointing such a controversial man to the top ASDF post.
Japan's temporary law authorizing the refueling mission expires Jan. 15, 2009.
==Kyodo
Nov 2 06:13 AM US/Eastern
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