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Japan Times
a day ago
- General
- Japan Times
Controversial theories continue to swirl around 1985 JAL jet crash
Forty years ago, Japan experienced one of the worst plane crashes in history. On Aug. 12, 1985, a Japan Airlines plane crashed into the mountains of southern Gunma Prefecture, claiming the lives of 520 people who were on board Flight 123. There were only four survivors. A Japanese government investigation has concluded that the accident was likely caused by faulty repairs done by Boeing, the maker of the aircraft. But over the past several years, a controversial theory that claims the Japanese government and the Self-Defense Forces were involved in the crash seems to have gained more attention. Books advocating such a theory — which critics refute as a conspiracy theory — have become bestsellers, and online videos on the topic have been viewed numerous times. For Toshiya Okabe, a former SDF officer who was part of the search-and-rescue team on the ground a day after the JAL plane crashed, the situation can no longer be ignored. Speculation of the SDF's involvement in the crash had actually been around for decades, but he never paid much attention to it until recently. 'I thought no one would really believe it,' he said. 'It's absurd.' To counter such claims, Okabe, who went on to serve as Chief of Staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force, formed a group last year with other retired SDF members and their supporters. 'As former members of the SDF, we simply cannot accept the situation because it's a matter of the honor of the SDF,' he said. When Okabe visited the crash site at Osutaka Ridge last year, he was greeted by a new memorial cenotaph that claimed the SDF may have been involved — a shocking sight that made him worry it could spread misunderstanding among visitors. The Self-Defense Forces shift through debris of the Japan Airlines aircraft that crashed into Osutaka Ridge, northwest of Tokyo, on Aug. 12, 1985, killing 520 of the 524 people onboard on their flight from Tokyo to Osaka. | REUTERS The small cenotaph was set up in 2023 by one of the victim's family members, who had doubts about the government's investigation into the crash, according to a book by Toko Aoyama, a former JAL employee and author of several books on the crash and the possible involvement of the SDF. Some of Aoyama's books made it to the School Library Association's recommended reading list, further fueling Okabe's concerns. 'Children have no knowledge of the accident,' Okabe said. 'They can be indoctrinated with the narrative that the SDF were to blame. This is deeply problematic.' How people gather information has changed significantly, with social media and online videos becoming a primary source of information for young people, Okabe said, adding that videos touting conspiracy theories tend to go viral. Questions have long been raised about what really caused the accident. During the Bon festival period on Aug. 12, 1985, JAL Flight 123 took off from Haneda Airport in Tokyo at 6:12 p.m., bound for Osaka's Itami Airport, carrying 509 passengers and 15 crew members. When the plane reached around 24,000 feet (7,315 meters) after about 12 minutes, the rear pressure bulkhead is thought to have ruptured. The pressure bulkhead separates pressurized and unpressurized sections so that a stable pressure is maintained in the cabin to create a comfortable setting for passengers. The investigation panel believes this subsequently caused a large part of the vertical stabilizer to break off while all four hydraulic lines were severed. This caused the plane to go out of control, crashing into Osutaka Ridge and killing 520 of the 524 people onboard. Toshiya Okabe in an interview earlier this month | KAZUAKI NAGATA In 1987, the panel said the rupture was caused by Boeing's improper repairs on the pressure bulkhead after the jumbo jet experienced a tail strike while it was landing at Itami Airport several years earlier. Yet, rather than using definitive language to describe the cause of the crash, the panel said the Boeing's faulty fixes were the 'estimated' cause — opening the door to controversial theories about the 'real' cause of the crash. A window-seat picture taken by one of the victims showed a small black speck in the air. The photograph, which came from a recovered camera film, was theorized as being a flying object, possibly a missile or unmanned aerial vehicle that mistakenly hit the tail fin of the JAL plane. In the 1990s, one theory was that the SDF's Matsuyuki destroyer was in Sagami Bay for a trial run and may have fired a missile that mistakenly hit the JAL plane. Those who believe in the SDF's involvement point to multiple eyewitness accounts on the day of the crash, which they say the government investigation panel didn't look into. In her books, Aoyama introduces witnesses who say they saw a red flying object in the area where the jumbo jet was flying and another who apparently saw an orange oval-shaped object stuck to the aircraft. There were also people in her books who claimed to have seen Phantom jets, or F-4 fighter jets, flying near the jumbo jet before it crashed. A firefighter who was at the crash site also told Aoyama that they could smell gasoline and tar — an oddity, since jumbo jet fuel is made of kerosene, she says in her books. Gel fuel could have caused the smell of gasoline and tar, Aoyama says, and as the substance is used in flamethrowers, the SDF may have burned evidence that indicated the jumbo jet was hit by a missile, she adds. One reason such theories are gaining followers is a lack of trust among some bereaved families who say the investigation panel left too many loose ends untied in the 1980s. Parts of the JAL airplane's wreckage, such as the vertical stabilizer, sank into Sagami Bay off Kanagawa Prefecture, but the investigation committee didn't recover them. In 2015, TV Asahi conducted a search in Sagami Bay and discovered what appeared to be wreckage of the jumbo jet, but even that failed to move the government to recover the sunken aircraft from the sea. A group headed by a bereaved family member was founded in 2020 calling for the wreckage to be salvaged. The Convention on International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. organization that Japan is a part of, says: 'If, after the investigation has been closed, new and significant evidence becomes available, the State which conducted the investigation shall reopen it.' Seeking more information related to the crash, such as data from the cockpit voice recorder, a member of the bereaved family group filed a lawsuit against JAL in 2021, but the court dismissed the claim. Former Self-Defense Forces officers participate in a symposium last month in Tokyo. | KAZUAKI NAGATA While some family members are frustrated that the case has remained closed, former SDF officials, in contrast, are frustrated by the spread of 'conspiracy theories.' Then-Upper House lawmaker Masahisa Sato, a former SDF officer, brought up the matter in April during a parliament committee session and asked Defense Minister Gen Nakatani what the ministry thinks about these claims. 'The SDF had absolutely nothing to do with the crash,' Nakatani said, adding that the claims are 'false information.' Aoyama protested against Sato online, saying such an action from a politician is a severe infringement on the right of freedom of expression. On July 28, Okabe's group held a symposium with several former SDF officials who argued against theories claiming the SDF were involved. Former officials who were on Matsuyuki said the ship was moored in Tokyo Bay, not in Sagami Bay, on the day of the crash. They said the vessel was still being outfitted at the time and did not carry missiles. Two pilots who flew Phantom jets after the JAL plane lost control said they did not shoot the plane. They also said that the locations cited by the eyewitness accounts didn't match their flight path, saying they might have seen U.S. Phantom jets. As for the SDF shooting the jumbo jet down and using flamethrowers in the aftermath to burn the evidence — it would be impossible to use such weapons without a record due to the SDF's strict weapon management system, Okabe and others said. 'People might say the SDF engaged in a cover-up on an institutional level, but having served in the SDF myself, I know that's not possible,' Okabe said. 'Such an incident would be a huge problem, and it's simply not realistic to think that the SDF can keep the lid on all of it.'
Japan Times
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Self-Defense Forces to discontinue annual review ceremony
An annual Japanese Self-Defense Forces review ceremony will no longer be held in principle due to mounting SDF duties in an increasingly severe security environment, according to the Defense Ministry. On Wednesday, the ministry said that it has become difficult to continue the event, which will not be held unless the security environment changes dramatically in the future. In the review ceremony, hosted in turns by the Ground, Maritime and Air SDFs every autumn, the prime minister, or the supreme SDF commander, gives instructions to the troops gathered from around the country. It is also designed to help Japanese nationals deepen their understanding of SDF activities. In the face of increased military activities by China and Russia around Japan, however, the SDF needs to concentrate its personnel on surveillance and other efforts to cope with the situation, according to the ministry. The review ceremony began in 1951, during the time of the National Police Reserve, the predecessor of the SDF. In November last year, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended a review ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Defense Agency, currently the Defense Ministry, and the SDF, at a training field of the GSDF's Camp Asaka, which straddles Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture.
NHK
30-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Japan Defense Ministry ends Self-Defense Forces review ceremonies
Japan's Defense Ministry says it will no longer hold annual review ceremonies of the Self-Defense Forces, citing security concerns. The ministry announced on Wednesday that the reviews will not take place unless the security environment surrounding Japan changes significantly. The ministry noted that the country's current security situation is the most severe and complex since the end of World War Two. It pointed to the need to reduce the burden on SDF personnel and focus more on monitoring and other activities to maintain a fully prepared defense posture. The ministry held the reviews every autumn, with the prime minister in attendance, to display the results of the SDF's regular training. The events, hosted in turn by the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces brought together units and equipment from across the country. The events were scaled down in fiscal 2020 onward to ease the workloads of SDF units. The ministry plans to organize other types of event, such as equipment exhibitions and flight experience programs, in various locations to deepen public understanding of the SDF's activities.
Japan Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
SDF maritime transport group boosts mobility in contingencies
The Defense Ministry established in March a new unit dedicated to maritime transportation, called the Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group. The group's primary mission is to enhance the rapid movement of personnel and the delivery of supplies using transport vessels, with a particular focus on the Nansei island chain in southwestern Japan, a region increasingly threatened by China's expanding naval presence. The new unit's command is located at the Maritime SDF's Kure Base in Hiroshima Prefecture. Uniquely, most of the unit's personnel are drawn from the Ground SDF. China's ongoing maritime expansion has heightened regional tensions and increased concerns about a potential crisis involving Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as an integral part of its territory. If such a contingency were to occur, there could be implications for the outlying islands of Okinawa Prefecture. Against this backdrop, the Defense Ministry has established SDF garrisons on some islands, including Yonaguni, Ishigaki and Miyako in Okinawa, as well as Amami-Oshima in neighboring Kagoshima Prefecture. Also as part of an initiative known as the "Nansei shift," the ministry has been bolstering its defense capabilities in the region by deploying surface-to-ship missile units, electronic warfare units and other strategic assets. Nevertheless, most SDF units are dispersed across Japan's four main islands, with few training sites located on the outlying island territories. As a result, the GSDF has made mobile deployment a top priority, focusing on the rapid movement of units from their assigned areas in the event of a contingency. To strengthen its response capabilities, the GSDF has been working to improve the readiness of its division and brigade formations. In line with these efforts, the GSDF resumed nationwide exercises in 2021, after a hiatus of about 30 years, with units from across the country mobilized simultaneously. The transportation capability of the SDF was identified as its weakest link. The three transport ships operated by the MSDF, along with two civilian ferries contracted by the GSDF, would not be enough to support the defense and recapture of remote islands in the event of an attack. Moreover, the large size of these vessels restricts them to a limited number of ports. In response to these challenges, the Defense Ministry and the SDF incorporated the establishment of a new transport unit into the 2018 Defense Buildup Program. The Maritime Transport Group currently operates a small-sized Nihonbare-class landing craft utility, or LCU, vessel, which has a displacement of 2,400 tons and measures 80 meters in length. In addition, the group has a medium-sized 3,500-ton Yoko-class landing support vessel, or LSV, measuring 120 meters long. By March 2028, the group plans to expand its fleet by adding another LSV and increasing the number of LCU vessels to four. It also intends to introduce four maneuver support vessels of more compact design, bringing the total fleet size to 10 ships. These will be stationed not only at the Kure Base but also at the MSDF's Hanshin Base in Kobe. The LSVs will primarily operate between Honshu and both Amami-Oshima and Okinawa's main island. For their part, the LCUs will link Okinawa's main island with the islands of Miyako and Ishigaki. The compact maneuver support vessels, designed to bring in supplies from the beach, will be tasked with transporting personnel and delivering goods to small islands that are inaccessible to larger transport vessels. The Maritime Transport Group's small-size Nihonbare-class landing craft utility vessel is docked at the Kure port in Hiroshima Prefecture. | Jiji These new transport operations will be overseen by personnel from the GSDF, despite their lack of experience in operating such ships. The MSDF is unable to provide staff or funding for these missions due to severe personnel shortages, stemming from declining applicant numbers and increased workloads, including territorial waters patrols and joint exercises with foreign militaries. Due to a shortage of available personnel, the GSDF was compelled to find transport crews from within its own ranks of 150,000 members. For this, the GSDF invited applications from personnel interested in joining the Maritime Transport Group. Beginning around 2019, selected members underwent training at various MSDF schools, followed by hands-on experience aboard naval vessels. Differences in culture, terminology and even the precise angle at which salutes are performed between the GSDF and MSDF have made the training process challenging. In one notable instance underscoring the complexities of inter-service collaboration, a GSDF member found himself receiving instruction from an MSDF member who was younger than his own son. At its launch, the new unit had about 100 personnel, but it will require more than 300 members to operate a fleet of 10 ships. To reach this goal, the unit plans to expand its ranks in cooperation with the MSDF. The Defense Ministry also intends to increase the number of civilian vessels contracted by the SDF to eight. In addition, it will promote port enhancements, including the construction of new wharves and the installation of additional cranes. Even so, the new unit will still not be fully equipped. Additional coordination will be needed to increase stockpiles of equipment and materials in the Nansei island chain, which would help reduce the overall amount of transportation required. Another important consideration is how to balance available transportation capacity with the need to efficiently evacuate island residents in the event of an emergency.
NHK
15-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Japan's defense report expresses strong concern over Chinese military activities
Japan's defense white paper for 2025 has expressed strong concern over Chinese military activities that it says could have serious impact on the country's security. The annual report was presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. It describes China's increased military activities, such as the first-ever intrusion of Japan's airspace by a Chinese military aircraft in August last year. It also says a Chinese aircraft carrier entered Japan's contiguous zone just outside Japanese territorial waters in September that year. On North Korea, the white paper notes that Pyongyang is stepping up military cooperation with Moscow. It says the North provides ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia, and that the dispatch of North Korean troops to join Russians in fighting could further exacerbate the situation in Ukraine. The white paper stresses the need to drastically strengthen Japan's defense capabilities amid these circumstances. It says that this fiscal year the defense ministry will start deploying stand-off missiles that can strike targets from outside enemy range. It says they will be part of the country's counterstrike capabilities. The ministry also plans to develop a system to enable a satellite constellation, or a number of small satellites linked together, to collect target information. In March, the ministry launched the Joint Operations Command to unify the leadership of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces. The report says the Joint Operations Command enables the SDF to always make quick decisions and responses. It also says a basic plan has been drawn up to hike wages and improve living conditions of SDF personnel, as a shortage of new recruits is becoming a problem. The ministry also plans to raise the retirement age for SDF members.
