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Prime Minister Delivers an Address at the National Defense Academy Graduation Ceremony Sunday, March 23, 2008 JAPANESE

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended the graduation ceremony at the National Defense Academy located in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. In his address, Prime Minister Fukuda said, "Various problems that have arisen since last year have considerably damaged the people's long-established trust in the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF): in national defense, there must not be a single lapse of attention no matter what the situation. This is all the more reason why the people are strongly calling for a reliable Ministry of Defense and SDF. I fully understand the weight of the people's expectation. I am determined to identify what went wrong and what caused it and to put utmost efforts into reforming the Ministry and the SDF together with the Minister of Defense. At this important juncture, as you are about to embark on the path to the senior SDF ranks, I ask each of you to always keep in mind the fact that the SDF cannot stand without the people's trust. I am looking forward to seeing you acting as innovators within the SDF, which is about to undergo change."