Japan Press Weekly

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2020 August 26 - September 1 [US FORCES]

US military in training exercises sprays Japanese security guards with tear gas

Japanese Communist Party member of the Lower House Hatano Kimie on August 26 visited the Defense Ministry to find out information about U.S. military training exercises where Japanese security guards were sprayed with tear gas.

In July, training exercises to spray tear gas onto the faces of Japanese security guards who are attached to the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base (Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Pref.) took place at the base.

The exercises using tear gas started around 15 years ago at the Yokosuka base. In 2005, a security guard was raced to hospital due to hyperventilation after being sprayed with tear gas to his face. The All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union which consists of Japanese civilian employees working on U.S. bases in Japan, through the Defense Ministry as its employer, has been requesting the U.S. military to review the need for the exercises.

JCP representative Hatano in a meeting with ministry officials asked questions regarding the kind of work, training, and other duties Japanese security guards engage in and also asked questions regarding the ministry's perspective on the training exercises in question.

A ministry official, however, avoided giving a clear answer as he is not allowed to reveal what the U.S. military does in detail in its training exercises.