New Year's Greetings by Defense Minister Iwaya
January 4 (Friday)
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New Year's Greetings by Defense Minister Iwaya
(This is a provisional translation)
At the beginning of 2019, I would like to offer my greetings to all the personnel of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude as Minister of Defense to all of you for serving your country with a sense of mission and responsibility day and night in your post. I always remember the fact that even during this New Year period, some of you are deployed to remote regions such as South Sudan, off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden and the Southern Ocean and seamlessly maintaining readiness, scrambling to take measures against airspace violations, conducting warning and surveillance patrols and more.
Through your daily duties, I believe that you feel more keenly than anyone else the severe and uncertain environment surrounding Japan.
Last year, the U.S.-North Korea Summit Meeting and the Inter-Korean Summit Meeting regarding the Korean Peninsula were held. However, even at this point, North Korea possesses and deploys hundreds of ballistic missiles capable of striking Japan, and the situation remains unchanged. Moreover, North Korea continues illegal ship-to-ship transfers on the East China Sea using increasingly sophisticated methods.
China is rapidly building up its military force across a wide spectrum and is increasingly active in the air and maritime space around Japan. In addition to repeated incursions by Chinese government-owned vessels into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands, Chinese naval vessel activities have become constant. Since 2017, there has been a drastic increase in Chinese military aircraft flights into the Western Pacific.
Looking worldwide, in addition to the threat of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, threats in new domains such as cyberspace and space have become evident.
Again last, torrential rain throughout western Japan in July, Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake in September occured. Additionally, earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia occurred in September. Successive large-scale natural disasters occurred both domestically and internationally last year.
Under such environment, I would like to set out what we need to do together in the New Year.
In order to protect the lives and peaceful livelihood of our citizens in this harsh security environment, we must first of all strengthen our defense capability through our own efforts.
At the end of last year, the Government finalized the new National Defense Program Guidelines, which set out the vision of the defense of Japan and the Mid-term Defense Program, which will turn the vision into reality.
In the current security environment, it is vital that we maintain superiority in the new domains of cyberspace, space and electromagnetic spectrum. The new National Defense Program Guidelines, whilst maintaining the exclusively defense-oriented policy, point to a departure from the existing model toward the development of a genuinely effective defense capability. Specifically, this means the creation of a "Multi-Domain Defense Force" that involves a further deepening of the joint defense force built to date, combined with capacity in all areas including the new domains.
In addition, we are looking to maintain and reinforce the functions of military bases to enable faster and more accurate response to all types of disaster, and well as to ensure the full inventory of equipment required for search and rescue operations.
In conjunction with the efforts of Japan itself, strengthening of the Japan-U.S. Alliance, the cornerstone of our national security, is more important than ever.
Under the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, our countries coordinate closely at all times. We will develop bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including space, cyberspace and the other new domains, joint exercises, defense equipment and technological cooperation in pursuit of even stronger deterrence and response capabilities for the Japan-U.S. Alliance.
At the same time, the impact of military bases on local communities must be mitigated. With respect to Okinawa in particular, the impact must be reduced in a tangible way. It is vital that these efforts by the Government are explained thoroughly to the people of Okinawa.
In addition to reinforcing the Japan-U.S. Alliance, it is necessary to advance security cooperation with other countries. In October, straight after my appointment as Minister of Defense, I held a meeting with defense ministers from ASEAN nations and others and exchanged opinions. As Japan-China relations improve, I believe that it is important that we put defense exchanges into practice. With the Republic of Korea, as you are aware, there have been several difficult issues, but I would like to overcome them and pursue close ties between our respective defense authorities.
To ensure Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy this year too, we intend to further advance defense cooperation and exchanges with countries including Australia, India, and the nations of ASEAN and Europe applying methods by means of joint exercises, capacity building assistance, defense equipment and technological cooperation
I will say a word at this point about accidents of the SDF. Last year, like the year before, saw a number of major accidents including the AH-64D crash, crash of an Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) vehicle into a private residence and the mishap of mortar at the Aibano Training Area. These accidents endanger the lives of SDF personnel as well as the citizens we are here to protect. I would like you to take every safety precautions to prevent recurrence of such accidents.
This year, under the new National Defense Program Guidelines, we will work towards building a Multi-domain Defense Force. This is not an easy course of action and will impose new challenges on you, but I am determined to take the lead towards this goal. You are aware that the peace and safety of Japan rests on your shoulders. Regardless of whether you are in the Ground, Maritime or Air SDF, I hope that you will make effort to take a forward-looking, enterprising and reforming spirit in your role.
I would like to conclude my speech by praying for health and happiness of you and your families for the New Year, for the growth of the MOD/SDF this year.
January 4th, 2019
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya