Reading Sukeyasu Ito’s Can You Die for Your Country? (Tokyo: Bunshun Shinsho, 2016), I was brought to tears.

　　　　　In this book, Ito asks what it means to defend a country and its people. From this question follows other questions: What constitutes a country? What constitutes this country we call Japan? He is asking these questions as one willing to give his life for his country. He is seeking to dispute with the full force of his words the complacency that currently envelopes our nation–– a nation that has forgotten the basics of what it means to defend itself.

　　　　　Ito is a former officer in the Maritime Self-Defense Force and instructor at the National Defense Academy. He was serving as the Chief Navigation Officer of the Aegis-class ship Myoko when his ship confronted a North Korean spy ship in the waters off the Noto Peninsula in March of 1999, marking the first time a Japanese naval ship was authorized to “save lives or property on the high seas” since the end of the Pacific War.

　　　　　In the first chapter of his book, Ito writes about the events leading up to the order from the Defense Ministry authorizing his ship’s actions and how circumstances changed for him and his fellow officers following the authorization.

　　　　　He recalls that the incident itself began when the Myoko picked out a suspicious vessel from hundreds of fishing boats and started to track it. The double door at the stern of the vessel drew Ito’s attention. He could see there where struggling Japanese could have easily been pulled aboard after having been abducted on shore.

　　　　　Ito recalls the blood rising to his head as he realized the purpose to which the North Korean vessel was being put. “Son of a bitch!” he said to himself.

　　　　　But Ito says his blood pressure “rose to a boil” when he learned that a Coast Guard ship that was also tracking the spy ship was heading back to Niigata as it was “low on fuel.”

　　　　　This anger was not directed at the Coast Guard, but rather at Japan’s unbelievably weak defense policies that leave us totally dependent on the United States. Why was it that the Coast Guard ship was not able to continue to track the North Korean vessel? Why did it have to go back to port? Why did it have to give up the chase despite the fact that kidnapped Japanese citizens might have been hidden away on board? As a Self-Defense Force ship, the Myoko itself could not either stop the North Korean vessel or arrest those on board without express authorization from the Defense Ministry. What they could do was continue to single-mindedly track the North Koreans.

Wrapping Comic Books Around Their Bellies

　　　　　Today we have the same situation with the Chinese ships that violate Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. If Chinese fishermen land on the islands, there is nothing we can do unless they directly provoke us with an attack. All we can do is watch and monitor. We cannot defend our homeland with the restrictions that are currently in place.

　　　　　Japanese Coast Guard ships that are authorized under their policing duties to stop and search suspicious vessels are no match for the Chinese and North Korean vessels infiltrating our waters. The Chinese may paint their ships white and the North Koreans may disguise their ships as fishing boats, but in fact we are dealing with armed military vessels. The crews on board these military vessels are trained and hardened military men. Their objectives and duties are not the same. It makes no sense to entrust the tracking and control of these military vessels to the Coast Guard.

　　　　　In the case of the Myoko, authorization was eventually given to take action against the suspected North Korean vessel––the first time such authorization was ever issued. The Myoko fired numerous warning shots at the suspected vessel, but the North Koreans, undaunted, refused to stop. Finally, the captain of the Myoko gave the order to zero their shots in on the suspected vessel itself. Tensions were on a razor-edge as the crew made their preparations. Then the North Korean vessel suddenly came to a stop. It had apparently run into engine trouble. What steps would Ito and his team of crew members now take?

　　　　　About a year ago I did a telephone interview with Mr. Ito about what happened next as the crew of the Myoko prepared to board the North Korean vessel. Revealingly, as they had no bullet-proof vests, they were forced to wrap comic books about their bellies instead. As they got ready, some of the younger members of Ito’s team looked hesitant and concerned about the situation they faced, and one of them asked Ito about the meaning of their role.

　　　　　 “Japan is now expressing its will as a nation-state,” he replied. “There is a possibility that kidnapped Japanese citizens are on that ship. Our nation is showing that we will do whatever is necessary to get those citizens back. That’s why we’re going. The Self-Defense Force exists for times like this.”

　　　　　“That’s right, that’s right. We understand,” the younger crew members responded in unison.

　　　　　When they assembled again ten minutes later, all of his team had the comic books wrapped about their bellies and were ready to go. But now any sense of hesitance was gone; there was a feeling of confidence throughout the group. In the end, though, the crew of the Myoko were faced with a harsh reality: their chances of subduing the North Koreans were without a doubt small. Even if they were to get the upper hand, the enemy could blow up their ship. All of them would die, including any Japanese abductees who might be hidden away in the hold of the ship. Ito concluded that their chances of success were in fact zero.

Military Men with Pride

　　　　　A myriad of thoughts flashed through Ito’s mind. What did it mean to protect the people of one’s nation? What was meant by “national defense”? How could he put his young crew at peril based on orders from politicians who had no answers to these basic questions? Putting all these contradictions aside, Ito and his crew prepared to die as their duty to their country.

　　　　　But was it the right thing to do? Sorting through everything again, Ito concluded that, no, at that time and place it wasn’t. If these young lives were lost and their deaths simply glorified, Ito later recalled, it would mean that the Japanese had learned nothing from their past history. It was at this point that he realized Japan as a nation was missing something very essential: a special strike force that had been through sustained rigorous training and was prepared for just such situations. It was the spirit of that type of national defense––one that properly elevates and respects professional military men with pride in their service––that we have been missing.

　　　　　In the end, just as Ito and his crew––prepared to die if necessary–– were about to board the North Korean vessel, the vessel finished its repairs and took off, successfully outrunning the Myoko to North Korean territorial waters. Ito and his men were saved from a perilous situation in which they almost certainly would have lost their lives.

　　　　　Following this incident off the Noto Peninsula, the Japanese government decided to form a special strike force, and Ito was assigned to the planning team in the Defense Ministry. The Japanese government requested assistance in its planning from the US Navy special strike force (the SEALS), but the Americans turned down the request, citing security concerns.

　　　　　Ito says, “With national needs, strategies, and approaches being so different, it didn’t make sense to completely model our strike force on that of another country.”

　　　　　Japan ultimately set out to form its own strike force in line with its own needs, but seven years later the true nature of such a force still had yet to be properly understood and implemented by the government. Transferred back to active duty in the fleet, Ito decided to leave the JSDF at that point. Since then he has been walking his own independent path, seeking a broader understanding of our nation’s defense needs. It is vital that the members of the current ruling party, which won large majorities in both houses of the Diet in the recent elections, take particular note of what Mr. Ito has to say about these critical issues.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 718 in　the September 1, 2016 issue of The Weekly Shincho)