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Council for Reforming the Ministry of Defense
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Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended a meeting of the Council for Reforming the Ministry of Defense at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
The meeting was convened by the Chief Cabinet Secretary upon the Prime Minister's instruction. The Council is comprised of experts who discuss, from the perspective of the people, the problems faced by the Ministry of Defense, which is in charge of Japan's defense and security, with the aim of getting to the bottom of how the problems arose. The members of the Council, in its second session, discussed the thorough implementation of civilian control, among other issues. In his address, Prime Minister Fukuda said, "It is truly regrettable that the people's long-established trust in the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) has been considerably shaken in recent days. I believe that in order to recover the people's trust in the Ministry and the SDF, we must bring them back to their basic stances and apply fundamental measures related to the three pillars of civilian control, information security systems, and defense procurement, thus setting out reforms to mark a new start for the Ministry and the SDF. The leadership of the Prime Minister's Office is required for the reforms to be advanced boldly by the entire government, and, recognizing this, I decided to establish the Council." Prime Minister Fukuda furthermore asked each Council member to give advice on the optimal basic directions for the reform of the Ministry of Defense and the SDF. |