Bashing on a Major

Is it an evidence of weakness of Japanese military? A weekly magazine, Shincho, ran an article criticizing an Army Major, who had injured in an assault of militia in Tunisia last month. The article targeted comments of the Major as too sentimental as a member of Japanese Self-defense Force. As security legislature has been discussed, the Japanese including political leaders are getting to expect JSDF deadly sacrifices without any responsible discussion for avoiding it.

In the rampage of militant group at National Bardo Museum in Tunis last month, three Japanese were killed and other three were injured. Among those injured, there was a woman medical doctor with Ground Self-defense Force Central Hospital, who had a status of Major. At the incident, she was one of the tourists. After being sent to a hospital, she released a letter describing her experience and impression.

The magazine criticized her letter as too incompetent. She wrote that she had not expected shooting, could not realize what happened. In the hospital, she felt uneasy with many reporters in and outside of emergency treatment room. She also revealed she could not open her eyes, because she had been crying over a whole day. The magazine indicated that her comment lacked consciousness that she was an officer of military organization.

The article worried that she would be confused with sound of shootings in battlefield, picking her description of shocking with reporter’s quarrels with officials of Japanese Embassy in Tunis. It also wondered that she did not tell nothing about denouncing terrorism. Supposedly, the article tried to say that a military officer of Japan needed to feel nothing about voices of reporters and diplomatic officers and always show fighting pose against terrorism in any situations.

In the discussion over further role of Japan on international security, irrelevant expectation on JSDF is growing. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not seriously care about loss of lives of JSDF members. “For individual self-defense right, members of JSDF will risk their lives for protecting lives of Japanese. They swear for that purpose in entering the organization. It is the same in collective self-defense right,” said Abe in the discussion in the Diet. He actually risks their lives with unnecessary expansion of JSDF role.

This concept of easy consumption of JSDF members’ lives affect Japanese people having a notion of “You fight, I stay.” For the people talking about threats from China or terrorist organization, it is not them, but someone with JSDF, who fight the war. This kind of irresponsible nation can never win a war.