Hostname: page-component-55f67697df-xlmdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-05-09T15:42:00.640Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Tamogami's World: Japan's Top Soldier Reignites Conflict Over the Past [Japanese, Korean and Czech translations available]

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Herbert P. Bix
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

On October 31, 2008, General Tamogami Toshio, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force [ASDF] Chief of Staff was abruptly dismissed from his post in the Defense Ministry, but allowed to retire with his full pension rather than be summarily fired. At a press conference several months earlier, Tamogami, who had also been the superintendent of the SDF Joint Staff College, publicly expressed contempt for a ruling by the Nagoya High Court that the Japanese military mission in Iraq was unconstitutional. On this occasion, the outspoken General, widely known among his peers for provocatively hawkish views, crossed several more lines.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 11 , November 2008 , e9
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2008

References

Notes

* I wish to thank Gavan McCormack and Mark Selden for sending materials used in this essay.

[1] Asahi Shimbun, April 19, 2008.

[2] Roy Berman, “Gen. Tamogami Toshio, Motoya Toshio, and Abe Shinzo,” Mutant Frog, November 4, 2008

Berman documents the close relations between company president Motoya Toshio and former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, as well as Motoya's support for a nuclear Japan, his writing of historical works under a pseudonym, and his ties to the Air Force support group. See also, The Mainichi Shimbun November 1, 2008,

[3] Jun Hong, “Axed ASDF chief hawk till the end; no apology,” The Japan Times, Nov. 5, 2008.

[4] “Government needs to assume responsibility for ASDF chief of staff's behavior,” The Mainichi Daily News, Nov. 8, 2008; AP, “Defense Minister to return part of salary over ASDF chief's war essay,” Bereitbart.com, No. 4, 2008; “The Ghost of Wartimes Past: Japan's History Wars Erupt Again,” Economist.com, Nov. 5, 2008.

[5] Shingetsu Newsletter No. 1191, News Analysis, posted Nov. 1, 2008.

[6] Kyodo News, “Beijing, Seoul rip ASDF chief essay,” The Japan Times, Nov. 2, 2008.