Which part of Japan are you from?

I'm from the western part of Japan, from Wakayama prefecture (south of Osaka), which is famous for fishing and oranges.

Have you always aspired to work for the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force?

Yes, of course!  When I was enrolled in the National Defence Academy I had no idea which service I would choose. The first grade at the National Defence Academy is joint education. Then in the second grade we were divided into army, navy and air force services, but my top preference was to be a navy officer for the chance to voyage to many countries.

Tell us about the main stages of your career in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force.

I’m primarily a surface warfare officer so I have spent many years at sea, including international disaster relief operations, and also the deployment to the Indian Ocean in 2003 after the 9/11 attack against the United States.

In addition to international engagements, I was also deployed for domestic disaster relief for an earthquake which occurred in Niigata several years ago. When I worked in the Ministry of Defence in Tokyo, my main focus was the alliance management issue with US forces, so I spent several years working in this area. From 2007 to 2008 I took command of my own ship, a destroyer, in Japan. It was the best time of my life!  I served only for a year, unfortunately, to prepare for my current position.

When were you posted to the Embassy of Japan in the UK and can you tell us about your current position?

I arrived on 20 May last year, so it’s been one and a half years so far. In my current position of Defence Attaché, my main role is to enhance and improve Japan-UK defence cooperation, including defence procurement and peacekeeping operation work such as the counter-piracy issue, which is a global one.

Can you tell us about the relationship between the Japanese and British Navies?

Japan and the UK have a long history, particularly between both Navies, so that’s one of the reasons why the post of Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Japan in the UK has always been filled by someone from the JMSDF. I very much appreciate that there have been so many predecessors in this position, and in recent years our cooperation has strengthened in other services (Army and Air Force) in areas such as defence procurement, so I have to work as much as possible to improve bilateral defence cooperation. I feel very honoured to be participating in something with such a long tradition. For example, during World War I, which occurred in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance era between 1902 and 1922, the Japanese government deployed their fleet to the Mediterranean Sea to protect the Allied forces’ transport ships, for instance from Egypt to Malta, Italy and other countries. We strongly supported the Allied forces in the Mediterranean Sea in World War I but not so many people know that nowadays. Now, just as at that time, we are cooperating with the European Navies, including Royal Navy in the Gulf of Aden, so I’ll make an effort to improve international cooperation, particularly focusing on the defence area.

You travelled to Djibouti on an official visit earlier this year. Can you tell us about your visit and the reasons for it?

First of all I’d like to explain about the global engagement on the counter terrorism issue. The Gulf of Aden is a kind of ‘choke point’ connecting Europe and Asia. About 18,000 ships navigate through the Gulf of Aden each year and piracy activity has increased greatly in this region in recent years. Since 2008, NATO, the EU and other task forces led by the US Navy have engaged in the counter-piracy operation around the Gulf of Aden. In the spring of 2009, the Japanese Government decided to send two destroyers, both carrying  helicopters on board, and two maritime patrol aircraft to take part in the counter-piracy effort, and since then we have constantly deployed our P-3C maritime patrol aircraft at Djibouti.

In order to maintain a high operation rate we needed to build our own airbase in Djibouti. This airbase became operational on 1 June this year. It is the first of such bases outside Japan and it will be a full-scale base for the duration of the counter-piracy operation. The purpose of my trip was to examine the situation and the counter-piracy efforts, because my position also includes a liaison role with NATO and the EU maritime headquarters in Northwood on counter-piracy.

Why in particular is piracy an issue for Japan?

As I mentioned, there are about 18,000 ships that pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, and about 10% of the ships navigating annually are going to and from Japan. Japan is a country which heavily relies both on imports and exports (for example car exports to Europe) so the safety of maritime routes is very important. Most of Japan’s exports to Europe are shipped through the Gulf of Aden north into the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. That’s the reason why the Japanese Government decided to engage in counter-piracy activity as a global issue.  In this context, I’d like to reiterate that Japan is protecting commercial ships there, regardless of their flags.