Japan Press Weekly

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2017 January 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Defense Ministry uses aircraft purchased for disaster assistance in joint military drill with US

Self-Defense Forces’ transport aircraft that was primarily purchased for the purpose of disaster assistance recently participated in a Japan-U.S. joint military training exercise, Akahata reported on January 11.

The aircraft in question is a C130R stationed at the Maritime SDF Atsugi Air Base, whose registration number is 9051. It was used in Japan-U.S. joint training exercises held inside and outside Japan from October 30 to November 11, 2016. The drills were conducted after the war laws came into effect under the scenario that the SDF provides logistics support to the U.S. military waging a war in an area distant from Japan.

So far, the Defense Ministry has not disclosed detailed information regarding the military exercise. However, the U.S. Air Force Kadena Air Base posted a report about the joint training exercises on its website. One of the photos in the report shows servicemen unloading dummy shells from a C130R and its registration number is 9051. Akahata asked the ministry to comment on this photo, but the ministry declined.

The aircraft is one of the six C130Rs that the Defense Ministry bought by using part of the 2011 budget allocated for reconstruction from the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami. Citing the need to replace its old YS11 transport aircraft, the ministry paid a total of 15 billion yen to purchase the secondhand C130Rs from the U.S. Marine Corps. YS11 aircraft are capable of carrying several tons of freight and flying 2,800 km whereas C130Rs can carry 20 tons and fly 4,500 km.

The purchase faced criticism at that time. Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Sasaki Kensho in a Lower House committee meeting in March 2012 said that it is inappropriate for the Defense Ministry to use the reconstruction budget to acquire military aircraft. In response, the ministry justified the purchase by saying that the transport planes will enable the SDF to provide greater support in the event of a disaster.