The Asahi Shimbun
Japan's naval officers prompted the U.S. to ask for sophisticated weaponry.
The request by Washington for the Maritime Self-Defense Force to add Aegis warships to the anti-terror campaign appears to have had its roots in lobbying by Japanese naval officers.
High-ranking officers of the MSDF approached Rear Adm. Robert Chaplin, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Japan, on April 10 at his Yokosuka office, according to U.S. military and Japanese sources. Chaplin serves as liaison between the MSDF and the U.S. Navy.
The Japanese officers asked Chaplin to convince his superiors to request Japan dispatch Aegis warships and P-3C anti-submarine patrol aircraft to the Indian Ocean as part of Tokyo's contribution to the U.S.-led fight against terrorism, the sources said.
A very similar request was formally made by the U.S. government April 29 in a meeting between Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and the three visiting secretaries-general of the ruling coalition.
The Japanese government has not as yet agreed to the U.S. request.
The attempt by MSDF officers to influence decision making may be raised this week as the Diet deliberates a package of bills designed to prepare Japan for a military attack.
This is not the first time MSDF officials have tried to use the U.S. Navy to further their goals.
Soon after the Sept. 11 attack on the United States, MSDF officials approached U.S. counterparts with a list of measures they were prepared to provide if the United States asked for them.
The April 10 meeting between MSDF officials and Chaplin was held to discuss what Japan could do after May 19, the deadline for the first set of support measures agreed to last fall. Both sides agreed Japan should extend its support beyond May 19.
The Japanese side then presented the Americans with a list of measures it was prepared to offer, including the deployment of the Aegis warships and P-3C aircraft.
U.S. military sources said Japanese officials explained their lobbying by saying it would be less of a problem deploying the Aegis warships and P-3C aircraft if heavy fighting was not taking place in the region.
Any deployment would become much more difficult if the United States, for example, were to launch a military attack on Iraq, the Japanese officials said. However, once the warships and planes were deployed they could be used without creating problems.
Military sources in Japan and the United States said the lobbying by the MSDF was leaked due to dissatisfaction among U.S. officials at what they called one-sided reporting that the requests had come exclusively from the United States.(IHT/Asahi: May 6,2002)
(05/07)