Lawmakers urge the defense ministry to revoke its refusal to continue employment of female ASDF member

Japan Press Weekly

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Lawmakers urge the defense ministry to revoke its refusal to continue employment of female ASDF member

A group of Dietmembers from the Japanese Communist, Democratic, and Social Democratic parties and lawyers on March 3 visited the Defense Ministry to urge the ministry to revoke its refusal to continue to employ a female Air Self-Defense Force member.

The female ASDF member in May 2007 filed a lawsuit with the Sapporo District Court demanding that the government pay damages for her having to suffer sexual violence and for having been forced to retire.

In the meeting, the Defense Ministry Personnel and Education Bureau Chief Watanabe Atsushi said, "Whether to continue or discontinue the employment of personnel, such as this Airman 1st Class (A1C), will be determined by the base commander, who is entrusted with the power to hire and fire. In the present case, the base commander decided that it is inappropriate to continue to employ the woman."

A lawyer for the plaintiff said, "The ASDF's 'directive on continued employment of the A1C states that A1C will be discharged if the personnel has been reprimanded three times or more, if the personnel has ever been punished for fraud or embezzlement charges, or if the base commander concluds that the personnel is inappropriate. In the case of the plaintiff, she has received merits of award for saving lives and other acts. Which of these provisions have been applied to her dismissal?"

Watanabe refused to answer the question on the ground that the lawsuit has nothing to do with the ASDF's refusal to continue employing her. He said, "I will not discuss anything about personal matters because it involves the right to privacy."

A member of the Self-Defense Forces, who joined the SDF with only a high school diploma, is required to submit to the base commander an application for his/her continued employment every 2 or 3 years. Based on "health check-ups, job performance, and other objective aspects that help to judge qualification", the base commander will decide whether to continue his/her employment. In the ASDF, about 8,000 officials sought to continue to be employed and only one person has been disapproved in the past five years.

- Akahata, March 4, 2009