Tokyo governor’s close aid tells municipal officials to be like ‘Israeli military officers’

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Tokyo governor’s close aid tells municipal officials to be like ‘Israeli military officers’

“I want you to be like an officer of the Israeli military.” ? What Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro’s close aide expressed in his message to senior government officials has caused controversy.

The message obtained by an Akahata reporter was a New Year’s greeting written by Yoshikawa Kazuo, chief of the Headquarters of the Governor of Tokyo. It was distributed to senior officials of the metropolitan government on January 4.

“The strongest military in the world is not the U.S. forces or the South Korean forces. It is the Israeli forces,” wrote Yoshikawa in his message, who claimed as the reason for their strength that officers take the lead in attacking enemies. He then expressed that the person who proposes something should be the one who starts doing it.

Some of the Headquarters’ officials have raised concerns that this extreme statement could be misunderstood by government officials and that it is thoughtless to compare the municipality to a foreign military.

“It could be understood if the Fire and Disaster Management Agency tells its executives to be the first one to fight fires. But who should the metropolitan executives fight against? Opposition parties in the metropolitan assembly or Tokyo residents?” asked a former senior official of the metropolitan government.

The Tokyo government’s job is to promote residents’ welfare as required by the Local Autonomy Law. How can it refer to acts of war and praise other country’s military officers?

- Akahata, March 5, 2010