Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > March, 2005

Prime Minister Delivers an Address at the National Defense Academy Graduation Ceremony Monday, March 21, 2005 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attended the graduation ceremony at the National Defense Academy located in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and delivered an address in front of this year's 337 graduates. In his address, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "The Self-Defense Forces (SDF) units are working hard with sweat dripping down their foreheads in Iraq and off the coast of Sumatra Island as a group that practices and spreads the goodwill of the Japanese people. Prosperity in Japan can only be achieved with peace and stability in the world," and emphasized the significance of the international peace operations carried out by the SDF. Furthermore, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "The new threats such as terrorism and ballistic missiles have become a major issue. The capacity to swiftly respond to the actual situation must be improved for future defense capability," and expressed his view that measures against new threats should be enhanced.