Defense, finance ministers fail to agree on GSDF troop cuts

Japan Policy & Politics, Dec 13, 2004

TOKYO, Dec. 7 Kyodo

The Defense Agency and the Finance Ministry failed again Tuesday to agree on the extent of ground troop reductions in Japan's defense strategy for the coming decade and the next five-year midterm defense budget, ruling coalition lawmakers said.

Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki met Tuesday afternoon for last-ditch negotiations but failed to reach common ground. They will aim to achieve an agreement when they meet again Wednesday, as time is running out with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito party moving to approve the strategy.

The government had hoped an end to two months of tough negotiations between the Defense Agency and the Finance Ministry would pave the way for Cabinet approval Thursday of the revised National Defense Program Outline, but is likely to have to put it off until Friday, senior government officials indicated.

Ono and Tanigaki agreed to reduce the number of combat aircraft from the current outline's 300 to about 260. But they disagree over the authorized number of Ground Self-Defense Force troops, with the ministry proposing a reduction to 140,000 while the agency requests it remain at the current 160,000.

On the total defense budget for the next five years, the Defense Agency and the Finance Ministry are negotiating toward a reduction to 24 trillion yen, down about 1 trillion from the current midterm defense plan's budget of 25.16 trillion yen.

''Rather than saying 160,000 (ground troops), I think it is more important to stipulate a target of 150,000 regular personnel,'' said senior LDP lawmaker Fukushiro Nukaga, who was present at the meeting. Nukaga, who is formerly a Defense Agency chief himself, is head of a coalition task force on national security.

The current outline stipulates the authorized number of GSDF personnel at 160,000, of whom 145,000 are regulars and 15,000 are reserves. In their respective initial proposals, the Defense Agency wanted to raise the number of regular personnel to 152,000, but the Finance Ministry wanted it reduced to 110,000.

Approval of the new outline was originally expected in late November.

It will reflect policies aimed at responding to new threats such as terrorism and proliferation of ballistic missiles. The current revision is the second since the outline was compiled in 1976. It was previously reviewed in 1995 in light of the end of the Cold War.