日光溫暖文學報

Japanese defense officials punished over war essay
By MARI YAMAGUCHI – 5 hours ago

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Defense Ministry punished several top officials for failing to supervise the air force chief fired after claiming his country was not an aggressor in World War II, but rather was tricked into involvement by the United States.

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and three other senior officials were taking partial pay cuts and two bureaucrats had been reprimanded over the essay by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami, the ministry said Tuesday.

It said the measures were meant to address the officials' lack of supervision and responsibility for hurting the public trust in the military.

The scandal was just the latest blow to the military under fire over a spate of incidents, including the death of a sailor in an unofficial farewell ritual, a confidential missile data leak and a deadly collision between a destroyer and a tuna trawler.

Japan's wartime aggression remains a sensitive topic. China-Japan relations nose-dived earlier in the decade over Japanese leaders' visits to a Tokyo war shrine honoring war dead, including convicted war criminals but ties have improved markedly over the last two years. On Monday, China welcomed Tamogami's dismissal.

"It was truly regrettable that an official serving as air force chief of staff caused such a controversy," Hamada told a news conference.

He also promised to ensure proper education among servicemen to nurture "objective understanding of facts without a distorted view of history." He said he is voluntarily returning about $1,690 from his November salary over the incident.

It was not immediately clear whether the essay, which won a writing competition Friday organized by a hotel and condominium developer, had been submitted to superiors for review or was entered into the contest without official authorization.

In the essay, Tamogami maintained: "It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation" during World War II.

He said life in countries under Japanese occupation was "very moderate" compared to other colonial rulers, liberated the Asian people from oppression and improved their standard of living.

Tamogami also claimed Japan was tricked into attacking Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, by then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

His views are widely shared among Japan's right-wing lawmakers and historians. However, Tokyo has repeatedly expressed regret over its colonial rule and wartime aggression in Asia.

A 1995 apology by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, marking the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII, became the government's official stance.

The 60-year-old general retired with full benefits from the military Monday after being stripped of his position as air force chief Friday

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan is demanding parliamentary questioning of Tamogami and other top officials over how Tamogami rose to become air force chief in light of a history of similar comments prior to the essay.

Tamogami offered no apology, saying he believed the essay would "benefit the country and the people."

"I don't think the essay was biased," Tamogami said Monday. "A country where one cannot say anything against the government's view has no democracy — the same as North Korea."