Japan Press Weekly

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2017 April 26 - May 9 [SDF]

Ex-SDF officers parachute into positions with major defense contractors

Nearly 700 retired Self-Defense Forces officers in 2015 obtained executive posts in major arms firms, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. This was shown in a document submitted by the Defense Ministry to the Diet in March.

Companies accepting many ex-SDF officers received huge defense contracts.

In 2015, the top three defense contractors were Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and IHI Corporation.

Kawasaki came first in the largest contract awarded as a result of concluding a contract to sell 20 P-1 patrol airplanes (worth 207 billion yen), offering golden parachutes to six former SDF high-ranking officers. Second-ranked Mitsubishi maintained first place overall for 50 years since 1965. While giving up the lead in the largest contract awarded, the company accepted the largest number of retired SDF officers (24). As for IHI, 10 senior SDF officers parachuted into executive positions in IHI subsidiaries.

Past related article:
> 13 former defense officials get positions in Yamada Corp. [October 26, 2007]