The chief of staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force has proposed that uniformed officers be given more say vis-a-vis civilians in the operations of the nation's military, but the Defense Agency chief has no plans to push for this option at present, agency officials said Friday.
Adm. Koichi Furusho proposed that the new position of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to debut in 2005, should have authority over all Self-Defense Forces operations and not be under the control of civilian Defense Agency officials.
Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he has no immediate plan to seek legal amendments to enable this, although he indicated the proposal merits consideration.