History
On 8 June 2006, the Cabinet of Japan endorsed a bill elevating the Defense Agency (防衛庁, Bōei-chō) under the Cabinet Office to full-fledged cabinet-level Ministry of Defense (防衛省, Bōei-shō). A bill that relates to the transition of the DA from agency to a ministry became law on 15 December 2006 with approval from the House of Councillors.[5]
53 years after the establishment of the Defense Agency in 1954, the Ministry of Defense was founded on 9 January 2007.[6]
The Ministry of Defense is headquartered in Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo, on a site which housed the Imperial Japanese Army Academy (陸軍士官学校), built-in 1874, the GHQ of the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II, and of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force following the war. The Japanese Defense Agency was established on 1 July 1954. Until May 2000, it was based in Akasaka (currently occupied by Tokyo Midtown).
The Ministry of Defense is required by Article 66 of the Constitution to be completely subordinate to civilian authority. Its head has the rank of Minister of State. He is assisted by two vice ministers, one parliamentary and one administrative; and the internal bureaus. The highest figure in the command structure is the Prime Minister, who is responsible directly to the National Diet. In a national emergency, the Prime Minister is authorized to order the various components of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) into action, subject to the consent of the Diet. In times of extreme emergency, that approval might be obtained after the fact.[7]
Defense Agency
In July 1986, the Security Council was established. The Council was presided over by the Prime Minister and includes the Ministers of State specified in advance in Article 9 of the Cabinet Law; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, the director general of the Defense Agency, and the director general of the Economic Planning Agency. The chairman of the Security Council also can invite the chairman of the Joint Staff Council and any other relevant state minister or official to attend. Replacing the National Defense Council, which had acted as an advisory group on defense-related matters since 1956, the Security Council addresses a wider range of military and nonmilitary security issues, including basic national defense policy, the National Defense Program Outline, the outline on coordinating industrial production and other matters related to the National Defense Program Outline, and decisions on diplomatic initiatives and defense operations.[7]
The internal bureaus, especially the Bureau of Defense Policy, Bureau of Finance, and the Bureau of Equipment, are often headed by officials from other ministries and are the main centers of power and instruments of civilian control in the Defense Agency. The Bureau of Defense Policy is responsible for drafting defense policy and programs, for determining day-to-day operational activities, and for information gathering and analysis in the JSDF. The Bureau of Finance is instrumental in developing the Defense Agency budget and in establishing spending priorities for the Defense Agency and the JSDF. The Bureau of Equipment, organized into subunits for each of the military services, focuses on equipment procurement. Before any major purchase is recommended to the Diet by the Defense Agency, it has to be reviewed by each of these bureaus.[7]
Below these civilian groups are the uniformed JSDF personals. Its senior officer is the chairman of the Joint Staff Council, a body that included the chiefs of staff of the ground, maritime, and air arms of the Self-Defense Forces. Its principal functions are to advise the director general and to plan and execute joint exercises. The three branches maintain staff offices to manage operations in their branches. Although rank establishes echelons of command within the JSDF, all three branches are immediately responsible to the director general and are coequal bodies with the Joint Staff Council and the three staff offices.[7]
This structure precludes the concentration of power of the pre-1945 Imperial General Staff (and the Supreme War Council) general staffs, but it impedes interservice coordination, and there are few formal exchanges among commanders from various branches. Moreover, some dissatisfaction has been reported by high-ranking officers who feel they have little power compared with younger civilian officials in the bureaus, who most often have no military experience. To rectify this situation and to increase input by the JSDF in policy matters, in the early 1980s the Joint Staff Council was enlarged to establish better lines of communication between the internal bureaus and the three staff offices. A computerized central command and communications system and various tactical command and communications systems were established, linking service and field headquarters with general headquarters at the Defense Agency and with one another.[7]
In the 1980s, efforts were also underway to facilitate a clear and efficient command policy in the event of a crisis. The government stood by the principle that military action was permitted only under civilian control, but in recognition that delay for consultation might prove dangerous, ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) began to be armed with live torpedoes, and fighter-interceptors were allowed to carry missiles at all times. Although aircraft had long been allowed to force down intruders without waiting for permission from the prime minister, ships were still required to receive specific orders before interdicting invading vessels. The Defense Agency had recommended drawing up more complete guidelines to clarify what action JSDF combat units could take in emergencies.
Cooperation between the JSDF and other civilian agencies in contingency planning is limited. No plans exist to ensure the support of civilian aircraft and merchant fleets in times of crisis, even though the JSDF transportation capabilities are generally judged inadequate. In 1990 legislation was being studied to provide the JSDF with the ability to respond in emergency situations not specifically covered by Article 76 of the Self-Defense Forces Law.
JSDF training includes instilling a sense of mission. Personnel are provided with the scientific and technical education to operate and maintain modern equipment and with the physical training necessary to accomplish their missions.
Modern equipment is gradually replacing obsolescent materiel in the JSDF. In 1987, the Defense Agency replaced its communications system (which formerly had relied on telephone lines of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) with a microwave network incorporating a three-dimensional transmission system using a communications satellite. Despite efforts to increase stocks, however, supplies of ammunition and maintenance and repair parts in 1990 remained at less than satisfactory levels.
Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Defense (防衛省, Bōei-shō) in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
The National Diet had passed into law the change of status of the Defense Agency to a Cabinet-level Ministry of Defense.[8] The House of Councillors (lower house) had voted by a majority, including the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, to amend the change.[9] Bills on transition to the Ministry of Defense became laws on 15 December 2006.[5] Only the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party opposed the change, claiming that it can lead Japan into a future war.[9] The Ministry of Defense was formally established on 9 January 2007, taking its present name and status as a ministry.[10] Subsequently, its Defense Facilities Administrative Agency was dissolved and integrated into the Ministry of Defense.[5]
In 2004, the Defense Agency building was attacked by a Kakurōkyō cell through improvised mortar barrages.[11]
In July 2007, the Ministry of Defense Building was attacked by a 21-year-old right-wing activist, who threw a Molotov cocktail in the direction of the building, after forcing his way through the main gate.[12]
Senior officials
Senior Advisers
The Senior Advisers to the Minister of Defense are senior policy advisers to the Minister of Defense.
- Senior Advisers to the Minister of Defense (防衛大臣補佐官)
Special Advisers
The Special Advisers to the Minister of Defense are special policy advisers to the Minister of Defense.
- Special Advisers to the Minister of Defense (防衛大臣政策参与)
Vice Minister and other officials
The Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense, the senior civil-servant at the Ministry of Defense, has the role of coordinating the affairs of the Ministry and of supervising the Ministry's bureaus and organs.
- Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense (防衛事務次官)
- Vice-Minister of Defense for International Affairs (防衛審議官)
- Private Secretary of the Minister of Defense (防衛大臣秘書官)
Military Commanders
The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff is the highest-ranking military officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and the senior military adviser to the Minister of Defense and the Japanese Government. He is supported by the Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff. He is appointed by the Minister of Defense, approved by the Cabinet.
- Chief of Staff, Joint Staff (統合幕僚長)
- Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff (統合幕僚副長)
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