Regarding the Nov. 28 article "SDF's rise in '90s behind Tamogami's challenge": I'd like to point out that "civilian control" has been wrongly interpreted — by the media, government bureaucrats, politicians and the like in Japan — ever since the end of World War II to curtail the freedom of speech for members of the Self-Defense Forces.
Toshio Tamogami, the ousted Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff, did not challenge civilian control and he did not disobey his former boss, the defense minister. He was ordered by the defense minister to step down from his post simply because his expressed opinion differed from the government's view.
Many people, including politicians and government bureaucrats, have opinions different from the government's official stance. That's normal in free societies like Japan. The real meaning of civilian control of the SDF is that civilians — the prime minister and the defense minister — will make decisions after considering the advice given by military commanders such as the ASDF chief of staff.
If the former ASDF chief of staff had been planning a coup, or had been mobilizing military units to protest government policy, he would have violated the principle of civilian control. The real reason Tamogami was fired is that the government was afraid that the media, opposition parties, China and the Koreas would criticize the government because of his comment.
The real problem, as triggered by the essay that Tamogami submitted in a contest, is that all Cabinets (since 1995) have accepted former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's view without fully examining his opinion.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.