Alliance of Subordination

Japan Press Weekly

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Alliance of Subordination
Japan-US alliance and SDF -- Part III

US forces-patronized SDF from beginning

After World War II, as part of establishing a network of military alliances worldwide, in addition to sending its troops to other countries, the U.S. military supplied weapons to other countries’ forces, conducted joint military exercises with them, and invited those forces’ personnel to the U.S. military’s educational institutions. Through these activities, the U.S. helped to create and develop its allied armies.

Among those forces, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), launched in July 1954, is very unique because the U.S. military patronized this army from scratch. This is the root cause of the JSDF’s subordination to the U.S forces.

Based on the July letter from Douglas MacArthur and the August GHQ orders in 1950, the National Police Reserve, the predecessor of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), was formed. In the letter, MacArthur permitted Japan to establish the National Police Reserve. However, Japan never asked for permission to do that.

The U.S. forces in Japan took the initiative to draw up a plan to establish the National Police Reserve, supplied the weapons, and even trained them.

It then urged the Japanese government to increase the number of the National Police Reserve personnel to 320,000 from the original 75,000.

Collaboration with US forces is essential

In contrast to the establishment of the GSDF, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was established under the initiative of former Imperial Japanese Navy leaders.

In October 1951, former Imperial Japanese Navy leaders and government officials set up a secret organ to establish the Coastal Safety Force, the predecessor of the JMSDF.

The U.S. forces gave that force military ships because Japan had no such vessels.

Even though the foundation of the JSMDF was initiated by former Japanese naval force leaders, the JMSDF is integrated into and subservient to the U.S. forces. The JMSDF was the first force among the JSDF to conduct the joint military exercises with the U.S. forces. The JMSDF always took the lead in participating in U.S. military missions abroad, including the so-called “sea lanes defense” in the 1980’s in the Straits of Malacca and in mine sweeping missions in the Persian Gulf and operations in the Indian Ocean in the 1990’s.

The book, “The history of JMSDF,” states that from its foundation, the JMSDF has recognized its collaboration with the U.S. forces as only natural.

Foreign interventionist capacity

Former Japanese military force leaders were partly involved in creating the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). However, as well as the JGSDF, the U.S. forces had a leading role in building up the JASDF.

The history of JASDF states that in accordance with the U.S. Air Force’s basic idea of establishing Japan’s own air force without delay, Commander in Chief of the Far East Command John Hull in the December 1953 letter to Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru wrote that it is necessary for Japan to have an air force using the same equipment as the U.S. Air Force. Based on this, the U.S. forces drafted a plan to set up an air force in Japan, then provided military aircraft to this force and gave soldiers training and education. During this process, the U.S. forces placed importance on close collaboration between this air force and the U.S. Air Force.

The U.S. Air Force doctrine mentioned the capacity to strike the heart of enemy as a main function of Japan’s newly formed air force and suggested supplying light bombers to Japan. What the U.S. Air Force mentioned and suggested is that Japan’s new air force should have the capability to invade other countries.

This reveals the U.S. military’s intention to develop the JSDF as a military which can be mobilized to U.S. wars of aggression and interference against Asian nations, not just as troops to defend Japan.

(To be continued)