DPJ’s Ozawa: U.S. Navy in Japan is enough

I have previously written about Ozawa’s lack of knowledge when it comes to strategic military matters. Without going into too much detail, it seems that Ozawa also forgot about the constitutional limitations placed on Japan to “defend” itself. His time spent as a politician apparently has not helped him understand the “basic” requirements needed to support and defend Japan’s and the United States’ interests in the region. Apparently Ozawa read and took to heart the speech from Kent Calder, an American political scientist knowledgeable of Japan and a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

As I mentioned in a previous post:  ”If the US had to respond to a conflict on the Korean Peninsula and needed troops from the Continental United States, it would take a Carrier Task Force (CTF) traveling at 20 knots 11-days to reach the peninsula. If it had to respond to a Middle East crisis it would need 20-days to reach the Gulf of Oman. On the other hand, it would take that same CTF two-days to reach the Korean Peninsula and 11-days to reach the Gulf of Oman if the US maintained forward deployed forces in Japan. The first troops to arrive in response to Iraq invading Kuwait leading to the first Gulf war were the Marines from the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Okinawa. 

One has to remember that seven of the world’s largest armed forces are located in the Asia-Pacific region. The unpredictable security climate in the Asia-Pacific region (e.g., the Takeshima/Tokdo dispute, a rising China, the Taiwan issue, the unstable DPRK regime, piracy in the Strait of Malacca, conflict in South West Asia, terrorism, other) requires that the US rapidly respond. For instance, considering the number of humanitarian crisis in the Asia-Pacific region recently, removing too many bases and troops will potentially diminish the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.” More on my opinion here.

 Maybe Ozawa includes the US Marine forces in Okinawa when he speaks of the Seventh Fleet. I need to check the Japanese text. The following report is from the Sankei Shimbun:

“Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) President Ichiro Ozawa clarified his views yesterday regarding the issue of realigning U.S. forces in Japan, indicating that the forces of the U.S. Navy alone would be enough for the future U.S. military presence in Japan. “For the United States to forward station troops at this time is meaningless,” Ozawa said. “In the sense of military strategy, the Seventh Fleet alone is enough for the U.S. presence in the Far East,” he added.

GW Arrives in Japan!

The picture above shows members of Zengakuren, a leftist student organization, marched on a Yokosuka, Japan, street Thursday against the arrival of the nuclear-powered USS George Washington. Don’t let the image fool you. There were only 50 members out to protest. Here is what the Stripes reported: 

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Thousands of people crowded onto Yokosuka Naval Base’s Pier 12 on Thursday to welcome the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to its new home in Japan.

The historic significance of the event was repeatedly emphasized by U.S. Navy and Japanese military officials, as the George Washington is the only nuclear-powered ship to be forward deployed to Japan.

“I think this is beautiful,” said Chief Petty Officer Cleo Bowie, who was among a smaller group of George Washington sailors who arrived ahead of the ceremony. “A lot of people maybe haven’t really taken it in yet, but once all the dust has cleared, then they’ll start to really see — it’s history.”

Japanese and U.S. government officials struck the same note in speeches.

“More than 60 years ago a long and bitter struggle came to a close,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan J. Thomas Schieffer said about the two countries’ warring past.

“Neither of us could have imagined the event that we witness today — the forward deployment of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, not to subjugate Japan but to defend Japan,” he said.

That sentiment didn’t assuage all concerns in Yokosuka, a former Imperial Navy base about 60 miles southwest of Tokyo.

Off base, the ship’s arrival spurred protests throughout the day, including a group who shouted “George Washington go home now” outside the base as the carrier cruised into the military-controlled port.