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| Satoshi Morimoto (Wiki Info) |
By Jeffrey W. Hornung
The choice of Satoshi Morimoto to head Japan’s Defense Ministry has surprised many. But the media and opposition party criticism is misplaced.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda recently reshuffled his cabinet as a means of courting the support of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for legislation related to increasing the consumption tax. Noda replaced five of his 18 cabinet members, including Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda, both of whom were censured in the House of Councilors. Yet, the change that has drawn the most attention is the appointment of Tanaka’s successor, Satoshi Morimoto. This is because Morimoto is an academic, not a politician, making him the first non-politician to become Japan’s top defense chief since World War II. But although the media and opposition parties have joined in criticizing his appointment, Noda’s choice deserves praise. Finally, Japan has a defense minister with unquestionable expertise.
Morimoto is perhaps Japan’s leading expert in defense and security issues. After graduating from the National Defense University, he spent close to fifteen years in the Air Self-Defense Forces and then served as the Director of National Security Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Upon retiring as a civil servant, Morimoto became an academic scholar. Not only does he have an impressive resume of security-related articles and books, he also makes regular appearances on TV programs to discuss security-related topics. He also has served as an advisor to various LDP cabinets on security issues, was a member of an LDP-initiated council tasked with strengthening the functions of the Prime Minister’s Office in regards to national security affairs, was a member of an LDP-created expert panel examining the creation of a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council, and was appointed by LDP Prime Minister Taro Aso as a special adviser to Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in 2009.
Read the full 2 page story at The Diplomat