Penalties for Japan Defense Scandals

Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:33 AM EDT

TOKYO — Japan fired its navy chief Friday and slapped dozens of defense officials with penalties over a series of scandals, while a report found the military negligent in a deadly crash between a destroyer and a fishing boat.

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who faced pressure to resign following the collision, said he would take a two-month pay cut as part of disciplinary measures aimed at restoring public trust in his battered ministry.

Topping the list of ministry troubles has been a leak of sensitive missile data last year that led to a naval officer's indictment, and the collision last month between a destroyer and a tuna trawler that left two fishermen presumed dead.

"We promise to take preventive measures firmly and promptly," Ishiba told reporters, repeating his apologies for "impermissible" scandals and accidents.

Ishiba said he would set up an investigative panel to prevent future problems, but gave no details.

Maritime Self-Defense Forces chief Adm. Eiji Yoshikawa was dismissed over the destroyer collision. He is to be succeeded by Keiji Akahoshi, a former regional commander at Sasebo naval base in southern Japan.

Two vice defense ministers and 19 other navy executives are also taking pay cuts, returning part of their monthly salaries to government coffers for up to two months. Seventeen others were suspended from work for up to 40 days over the data leak. A total of 88 officials were punished.

The Defense Ministry also issued a report Friday acknowledging negligence in the collision with the fishing boat, saying the destroyer failed to guard against smaller vessels and ignored its responsibility to give way.

The report said up to four of the seven duty watch crew were missing, while a monitoring radar was unattended around the time of the crash. The report also found the ship's commander and his deputy had both gone to their rooms for a nap at the same time.

The report, however, did not pinpoint a precise cause of the accident, citing an ongoing investigation led by the Japan Coast Guard.

The crash last month off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo, triggered an uproar in Japan, where many harbor pacifist sentiments and remain sensitive to anything related to the military. Opposition lawmakers demanded Ishiba resign to take responsibility.

In the data leak scandal, a navy officer was indicted in late December for allegedly releasing classified data in August 2002 about U.S.-developed Aegis radar systems technology, carried by warships with missile interceptors, in violation of a Japan-U.S. security pact.

The case raised concerns about Tokyo's handling of classified military information and prompted officials to call for stricter intelligence management.

The scandal has also embarrassed Japanese defense officials as Tokyo and Washington step up a joint missile defense system following North Korean missile and nuclear tests.

Officials linked to the data leak accounted for about two-thirds of those punished Friday.

Friday's punishment also cited a fire this year on the destroyer Shirane in which key equipment was damaged.