It's time for Japan to rethink its security dependency on Washington
The cornerstone of Tokyo's security is the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. But what matters most is not the American pledge to defend Japan -- treaties, unlike private contracts, aren't enforceable. No government will go to war solely because a document says it must.
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
War must never be repeated, says WWII guerilla commander
A 102-year-old Japanese man has voiced strong opposition to war, recounting his experience of undergoing training for guerrilla warfare at a secret school to prepare for a possible battle in mainland Japan toward the end of World War II. Satoshi Ito received infiltration, sabotage and other forms of training for three months at the Futamata branch of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army's Nakano school. The branch was located in present-day Tenryu Ward in the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. "I was a pawn of the military (like many others)," Ito, who now lives in the city of Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, recalled. "We must never engage in a foolish war." In January 1943, Ito, who was a middle school teacher, passed the conscription exam. The following year, he entered the army's cavalry school in what is now the city of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, to train future officers. Around July 1944, a supervising officer suddenly told Ito to go to a meeting room, where several interviewers in military uniform asked him whether he would be able to cut ties with his family. Ito was then asked to turn around. When he turned around to face the interviewers again, he was asked what he remembers seeing on a now-empty table between them. After trying hard to remember, Ito answered, "Cigarettes, an ashtray, a fountain pen and documents." The interviewers voiced their satisfaction at his answer. A befuddled Ito passed the 15-minute interview and was enrolled at the Futamata branch of the Nakano school on Sept. 1 the same year as one of the branch's inaugural students, which numbered some 230 people. The students were told by a military instructor that they would be sent to the battlefields to engage in guerrilla warfare after receiving training for secret operations. They were also told to keep the name of the Futamata branch an "absolute secret." It was strange that the instructor did not have a buzzcut despite being military personnel, Ito recalled. The school's teachings, he said, were "unique" and the "complete opposite" of what he had learned up until then. The school urged the students to survive and complete their missions and also told them that it was all right to be held captive as it was an opportunity to confuse the enemy by spreading false information. Until then, Ito had been taught not to be afraid to die and never to face the humiliation of being caught alive. The three months of training were intense, Ito said. In a bridge bombing exercise, he was asked by an instructor how long the structure was after he had crossed it, and how deep the river was, as well as how much gunpowder was necessary to blow it up, all part of training to hone observation and analytical skills. Ito was also trained to blow up planes after infiltrating airfields, as well as to collect information from women at bars. While Ito graduated from the Futamata branch school at the end of November 1944, the three months he spent there were not listed in his military records. After graduation, he was deployed to the command of the central district army in Osaka. He then became a second lieutenant and was sent to Taiwan in January 1945. In Taiwan, he was named company commander of a guerrilla unit made up of local residents. The war ended without the U.S. military landing in Taiwan. "I was relieved to be alive," Ito said. In March 1946, he took a week to return to Japan by ship from northern Taiwan. Upon his return, he went back to teaching. Decades after the war, the army's Nakano school came into the spotlight after soldier Hiroo Onoda, one of the Futamata branch's inaugural members, was found alive on the Philippine island of Lubang. Onoda held out on the island for about 30 years following the end of the war before he returned to Japan in 1974. Ito described Onoda as "serious," saying he opted not to go out even on Sundays and instead stayed at a ryokan inn to study. "I'm not surprised at Onoda hiding for 30 years because he did not receive an order (relieving him of his duty) from his commanding officer," Ito said. More than 80 years have passed since Ito received the secret training. "I was a cog in a machine or a pawn of the army. Japan engaged in a foolish war," he said. "War must not be repeated. This is a cry (of determination) from a 102-year-old."
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Overseas WWII memorial services for Japanese families set to end
A program that allows families of Japanese nationals who died in overseas battlefields during World War II to visit memorial sites and hold commemorative ceremonies abroad will end this fiscal year due to the aging of participants. With this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, Nippon Izokukai, a bereaved families organization for the war dead and the program's organizer, decided that it would be difficult to maintain the initiative with the average age of participants exceeding 80. The program was launched in fiscal 1991 with the help of state subsidies. Many people have participated in memorial services to remember the war dead, while the program has also facilitated interactions with residents in the Pacific islands, China, the Philippines and other locations that were once fierce battlegrounds. As of April 1, about 16,000 people had taken part in about 450 trips through the program. The number of participants has been declining recently, however, with many bereaved families growing older. After the number of participants peaked at 911 in fiscal 2005, the figure dwindled to 248 in fiscal 2023 following a suspension of the program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this background, the organization decided to terminate the program at the end of March next year. The move also means an end to memorial ceremonies at sea. In June this year, participants prayed for the souls of the fallen in a string of such ceremonies held in the Taiwan Strait, off the coast of the Philippines and other locations. The program will also take participants to the Philippines as early as November. Many families of the war dead have expressed disappointment about the program's termination. "It's a shame that that the program will come to an end," said Hisako Tsuchitana, 84, who went on two trips to Saipan to pray for her father, who died there. "I felt closer to my father by visiting the place where he died in battle," she added. "I would have liked the program to continue until at least our grandchildren's generation." Toshiei Mizuochi, 82, a former Upper House lawmaker who heads the organization, issued a statement saying that the group plans to invite foreign nationals involved in the memorial services to come to Japan to tour war memorial facilities. "We hope to continue our interpersonal exchanges in a different form," an official of the organization said.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
India wants more Japan involvement in its high-speed rail project
The Indian government is pushing for more involvement by Japan in India's national high-speed railway project, according to informed sources. India expects Japan to submit bids for routes other than the one under construction in western India that is set to utilize the Shinkansen bullet train technology, the sources said Wednesday. With hopes high on the Indian side, arrangements are under way to hold a summit between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi around Aug. 29, when the latter is due to visit Japan.
