Japan Press Weekly

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2014 May 28 - June 3 [POLITICS]

Japan’s fighter jets joined US military drills to bomb other nations

Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force’s aircraft participated in U.S. bombing exercises, Japanese Communist Party Lower House member Kasai Akira revealed on May 30.

Kasai brought this fact to light by citing an SDF member’s article in the July 2012 issue of a monthly magazine published by the SDF’s Air Staff Office. In his account, the member of the Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture stated that the ASDF’s F-15 fighters “led” U.S. B-52 strategic bombers in the joint military exercises held in Alaska in October 2009.

B-52s are large aircraft which have a long flight range and capability of carrying lots of bombs. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military repeated carpet bombing raids using the bombers.

In his interpellation, Kasai pointed to the fact that the military drills were held on the assumption that the allied forces would invade enemy territory and destroy its aviation power.

He stressed that ASDF fighters’ escorting of B-52s will constitute Japan’s exercise of the right to collective self-defense, which is banned by the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.

In response to Kasai, a parliamentary secretary for defense acknowledged that ASDF aircraft participated in the military exercises. Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio insisted that the drills took place within the confines of the Constitution.

Past related article:
> Number of Japan-US joint military drills marks record high in 2012 [December 22, 2013]