SDF personnels'
suicides on the rise
MYAZAKI Manabu
The
number of the nation's Self-Defense Force (SDF) personnels who
commit suicide is increasing, at an alarming rate. According
to the SDF, 59 staffers killed himself(herself) in fiscal 2001.
Between April and December last year, the officials said, the
number has already accumulated to 63. At this rate, the total
number of staffers committing suicide could be record-breaking
75 by the end of fiscal 2002, March this year. The number 75
was marked in fiscal 1998. The officials say that they have
no knowledge of written notes left of the deceased, and they
had no idea why these personnels killed themselves. However,
I am absolutely skeptical about such a statement.
There
was an SDF serviceman who had killed himself after suffering
continuous bullying from his colleagues. According to his mother,
he had been forced to drink alcohol even though he could not
drink, and had been forced to participate in gambling. The mother's
testimony seems very clear as facts, but the SDF's investigative
report on the matter contained none of these facts, but it consisted
of the serviceman's personal problems at the time of his suicide.
The SDF--or the national government--would never admit any wrongdoings
even if there is some kind of structural problems within their
organizations. The only case they would have to admit their
fault would be when there is a material proof.
There
are a few possible reasons why the SDF personnels kill themselves.
First would be financial. In Japan, more than 30,000 people
commit suicide every year, most of them financially strapped
owners of middle to small size companies. People in the SDF
resemble their fate. According to sources, there are numerous
number of debt-ridden SDF personnels. Being in the Self- Defense
Force service require building up physical forces, which consequently
results in the build-up of their libidos. However, most of them
are stationed in bases where they have little contact with women.
As it turns out, many servicemen become frequent customers of
local sex shops, to release their stress from work and their
sexual drive. As their number of visits increase, so do their
debts to those shops.
Although
they are categorized as "special service," SDF personnels are
members of the national public service. Financial firms would
be more than eager to extend loans to SDF personnels, since
their status is guaranteed by the national government. As a
result, there are number of SDF personnel with multiple debts.
If there is an SDF facility near your neighborhood, I recommend
you to take a walk around it. I am sure you would see a number
of financing firms' advertisement billboards. However, a personnel
who belongs to the special service of the national government
has different rules on their status compared to national government
officials who belong to "regular service."
For
example, their retirement age is set at 60, but only if you
are promoted to major general. If your rank is lower than sergeant
first class, the retirement age is 53. Most people in their
early 50s would have children in their 20s. This means that
they would have to be prepared to provide certain amount of
money, for their children's wedding, for example. As the nation
continue to suffer sluggish economy, few could find a second
job after their retirement. There would likely be no cushy "amakudari"
job. Amakudari, or descent from heaven, is a practice which
a company appoints retired government officials as its executives
in return of securing stable relationships with the government.
From
this point of view, the SDF draws a sharp contrast with police
forces. Japan's police forces possess a large quantities of
rights to authorization and licensing. Also, they make full
use of information acquired under investigation and have managed
to secure amakudari jobs in wide variety of industries. Furthermore,
a police official could actually produce a cushy job for him
after retirement.
There
was a case a few weeks ago which Osaka prefectural police searched
a major financing firm on suspicion of forcing its employees
to work without paying overtime. Such a case is usually dealt
by a local Labor Standards Office. I suspect that Osaka police
had put strong pressures to secure a few post-retirement jobs
for its retirees against the financing firm in exchange for
police to NOT investigate similar allegations again in the future.
Meanwhile, the SDF personnels are professionals in rescue maneuvers
during natural disasters and could be a genius in operating
tanks, such skills are mostly useless in daily life. I believe
their major amakudari jobs have been secured in the defense-related
industries. However, there had been a bribery scandal in 1998,
which SDF officials were convicted for receiving bribes for
extending special favors in SDF's arms procurement. After the
incident, the defense industry is believed to have offered little
in terms of amakudari. A retired SDF personnel has little chance
of securing a post- retirement job.
The
second reason why people choose to commit suicide would be their
willingness to serve. The SDF has been "a bastard child" ever
since its creation, mostly because of the Article 9 of the Japanese
constitution which "renounce war as a sovereign right of the
nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international
disputes." This is the main reason why the SDF has never managed
to make a healthy fusion with the Japanese society. They have
never had actual combat experience since it was established
after WWII.
Most
Japanese people have believed that the SDF was useful for disaster
relief operations. However, the SDF managed to tarnish its reputation
in Great Hanshin Earthquake of Jan.17, 1995 for their slow start
in relief operation. The earthquake left more than 6,000 people
dead and tens of thousands of people losing their homes. The
earthquake not only destroyed homes and highways, but also destroyed
the myth that "the SDF should be useful for disaster relief."
I believe that the U.S. Marines have achieved confidence from
American citizens and being a marine earns some kind of social
status. I doubt there is any kind of positive social status
for being an SDF personnel. Nevertheless, rules and training
for being a member of the SDF is demanding. Once upon a time,
there had been a cause, "for the nation," even though it was
only principle. But today, the SDF has turned into a petty subordinate
of the United States' world defense strategy. It is not difficult
to imagine some personnels begin doubting themselves why they
have taken part in such an organization.
The
suicide rate was especially high at the Infantry of the Western
Army of the Ground Self-Defense Force, based in Kyushu and Okinawa,
with 25,000 soldiers. It is believed that the soldiers are supposed
to be best trained against a national security emergency. I
believe many in the infantry lost their cause. We must face
the fact that in today's Japan, people's loyalty and dependency
to organizations they belong, are deteriorating at a fast rate.
People tend to respect individual's right against the organization's.
The tendency is not wrong in general context, but such way of
thinking would likely to face hostile rejection in the SDF,
an organization run by a classic way of thinking, where someone
superior, in ranks and position, has an absolute power over
its minors.
I
have interviewed some SDF personnels, and one person said he
had joined the SDF because they would be able to acquire a number
of licence free of charge, for example, a driver's license for
large vehicles. In short, joining the SDF is only a step for
your next career opportunity. The SDF management knows this,
but never admits the fact in public. So they continue to recruit
young people, stating "Don't you want to take part in a very
important job to defend our nation?" Obviously, there is a wide
gap between how the SDF is operated and modern Japan's general
trend and its way of thinking. I am convinced that this has
made some personnel tipping over the edge, and the situation
nests even greater peril.
There
are a certain number of "hard-core" SDF personnels, who are
not comfortable with recruits who considers working for the
SDF as a temporary career. I have heard from sources that some
SDF executive officials publicly concluded the rapid increase
in suicide as "because the number of college educated recruits
have increased. They are inferior in their physical and mental
strength, who reluctantly joined the SDF because they could
not find jobs elsewhere." Such a remark shows that some hardballs,
or fundamentalists, could seriously backfire, meaning there
is even a possibility of a military coup.
I have also learned that quite a number of SDF servicemen are
eager to try their skills, accumulated with their hard days
of training. We must not forget Aum Shinrikyo had recruited
a number of SDF personnels as the cult's members--and many actually
decided to join it--to make full use of their military experience.
Although the example is too radical, we have to be aware of
the fact that the SDF potentially possesses devastating destructive
force. We should not be letting the situation untouched, if
some members of such an organization are actually ideologically
dangerous.
The
national government is eager to pass a new legislation for contingency
and emphasizing in amending the Self-Defense Force Law. However,
what could we expect from these new policies if the structural
problem plaguing the SDF is left unsolved? I believe that the
Japan's Self-Defense Force has to dissolve sooner or later.
Military Forces could only exist where there is an enemy they
must fight against. As the era of Cold War had ended, I do not
think there is no longer a meaning for the SDF to exist. Only
reason I could come up with would be they exist for the Japan-U.S.
Security Treaty--in another words, to reinforce the U.S. Forces
in Japan. I also suspect such an ambiguous "raison d'etre" is
also making SDF personnels to feel uncomfortable. In sarcasm,
as long as the security treaty is valid between Japan and the
U.S., SDF is not necessary.
There
is an option, to rely heavier to the U.S. military for the national
security plus disaster relief--of course we would pay them more.
I don't believe the current situation would go on forever. In
the future, the Japanese government could come up with a political
and diplomatic decision to leave the protection of the U.S.
military. We would only have to declare:" We could protect ourselves
from now on, thanks for everything." Anyhow, the time has come
when we have to seriously discuss how to institute the SDF to
best promote Japan's national interest.
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Rapid increase in SDF personnel's suicide
The
SDF personnels who had committed suicide in fiscal 2002
(from April to December 2002) was 63. 42 of them from
the GSDF, 12 from MSDF and 9 from ASDF. Most of them belonged
to ranks between sergeant and warrant officer. The Defense
Agency has announced that they would take the matters
seriously and taking measures. One of the measures include
counseling service, starting fiscal 2003.
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(2003/1/30 ）
