Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 October 31 - November 6 [SDF]

SDF jointly conducts live-shooting drills with US forces: Okinawa defense bureau official

The Okinawa Defense Bureau head on November 5 blurted out that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces along with the U.S. forces have conducted live-shooting drills in U.S. Camp Hansen in Okinawa.

He made the remark when Japanese Communist Party House of Representatives member Akamine Seiken and the JCP Okinawa prefectural assembly members’ group made representations to the defense bureau in protest against the recent crimes committed by U.S. servicemen.

Okinawa Defense Bureau head Takeda Hirofumi said that the Japan-U.S. joint military exercise started on the same day in U.S. Camp Hansen in Okinawa’s Kin Town.

When the JCP representative asked about whether the exercise entails live-shooting drills, the bureau head said without hesitation that the SDF has held the shooting drills in the past.

Akamine grilled Takeda by saying that the government has never admited that the SDF has conducted shooting drills during the joint military exercise in Camp Hansen. He criticized Takeda for contradicting what the government says and requested a full explanation.

Getting confused, the bureau head was unable to reply.