Vote allows Self-Defense Forces
to guard U.S. bases in Japan
By Wayne Specht, Stars and
Stripes
American military installations in Japan may soon be guarded by the
nation’s Ground Self-Defense Force.
The Japanese Diet passed a bill Monday giving the SDF a wider role in
the war on terrorism.
The Diet approved a revision of laws that govern use of the
nation’s air, ground and maritime Self-Defense Forces to support the U.S. initiative
against terrorism. One change could see Japanese troops sharing security burdens at some
U.S. bases in Japan.
Local Japanese police agencies currently protect areas surrounding
bases, and U.S. forces provide security inside installations. Most bases use a combination
of military and uniformed civilian guards to man gates and control traffic.
At Misawa Air Base in northern Japan, Air Self-Defense Force guards
wave outbound traffic through the main gate, but they are not vested with authority to
patrol U.S. portions of the joint-use installation.
The bill allows the SDF to provide security inside U.S. military
facilities, most likely by the Ground Self-Defense Force.
Government sources told Japanese newspapers that Yokota Air Base in
western Tokyo and Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture, until now used exclusively by the U.S.
forces in Japan, may soon be patrolled by SDF guards.
Other U.S. facilities that may come under SDF protection include
Misawa in Aomori Prefecture; Atsugi Naval Air Facility and Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa
Prefecture; Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, Yamaguchi Prefecture; and Sasebo Naval Base
in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Authorizing guards inside U.S. installations would require the SDF
and the U.S. forces to craft a document detailing bilateral agreements on the SDF’s
protective activities, including which U.S. facilities will be guarded and what kind of
protection the forces would provide.
It is likely that the Defense Agency and the Foreign Ministry would
meet with U.S. military authorities for discussions under the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces
Agreement to resolve specific issues.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the government received unofficial
requests from the U.S. forces in Japan to guard their facilities.
Ninety Hokkaido Prefecture riot police arrived in Misawa last week to
patrol areas surrounding the base. Several uniformed police officers man 24-hour posts
outside the base’s main gate.
The Defense Agency and the Foreign Ministry hope to reach agreement
with the U.S. military regarding SDF protective action in early November, government
sources said.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would determine which U.S.
facilities would be guarded by the SDF after consultation with the National Public Safety
Commission, the Defense Agency and governors from prefectures to be affected by the
envisioned law.
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