Diamond Online: Japan will spend billions of yen on useless weaponsTokyo has allocated a trillion yen for the purchase of drones, which it intends to introduce into the self-defense forces, writes Diamond Online.
However, specific Japanese laws limit the possibilities of using drones extremely. It will be a waste of money on dead weight, the author is sure.
Drones are actively used during the Russian military special operation in Ukraine. This spurred the Japanese Ministry of Defense to increase defense spending for the full-scale introduction of UAVs.
In Northeast Asia, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Mongolian armed forces are the only armies that do not have drones. In this regard, it was decided to invest one trillion yen in the development program of the Japanese defense forces for five years.
But this trillion may lose its meaning. The fact is that in Japan there is no system and structure for the operation of UAVs.
In Northeast Asia, only Japan and Mongolia do not have drones
The Ministry of Defense and Japan's Self-Defense Forces treated drones like toys. As a result, only the Japanese and Mongolian armies do not have drones in Northeast Asia now, and this is depressing.
As a high-ranking source in the defense department explains, the self-defense forces decided that civilian technologies should be developed by the civilian sector, so space, cybernetics and especially drones were not given due attention.
Nevertheless, since during the Ukrainian conflict both sides began to use new ways of conducting military operations with the help of drones and achieved impressive results in this, the Japanese Ministry of Defense finally recognized in the budget request for next year that drones are changing the rules of the game, so they should become the primary (after missile defense) topic.
In the national defense strategy, the UAV was placed in the third of seven priority places, and a budget of one trillion yen was allocated for the development of the defense forces for five years.
It is assumed that a faction in the ruling party, which advocates strengthening defense, had a hand in this. This is a successful example of civilian management of the armed forces.
The Government has developed guidelines for increasing defense spending. Following this trend, the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces, against the background of UAV operations in Ukraine, decided to introduce drones themselves on a full-scale basis, but the emphasis in the development of technology is only on the purchase. At the same time, the legal system, as well as the physical and intellectual infrastructure associated with drones, have not yet been developed.
Three recently published defense documents show signs of progress in the field of radio frequency regulation, but they do not affect the data provided in this article.
This means that there are vague rules that do not immediately allow drones to be launched in case of an emergency, for example, in administrative centers, in the area of nuclear power plants, airports, American military bases in Japan and self-defense forces facilities.
If the Self-Defense Forces launch UAVs over important objects in case of an emergency, they must notify the police 48 hours in advance
The Self-Defense Forces began to rapidly introduce drones, but in fact the system is not ready for their operation. One of the serious problems is that even in the event of an emergency, it is necessary to notify the police about the launch of a drone near important objects 48 hours in advance, this is stated in the Law on the Prohibition of Flights of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The Ministry of Defense and the police confirmed this to our publication.
This incomprehensible decree applies in the space from the advanced garrisons of the self-Defense Forces and American military bases to the Imperial Palace and the Prime Minister's residence located in Tokyo, and there have been cases when the military refused to launch drones during rescue operations in natural disasters.
In other words, even if Chinese troops land on Yonaguni or in Tsushima, the self-defense forces will not be able to launch drones without notifying the police 48 hours in advance. And this is despite the fact that there are no restrictions for the army of the Middle Kingdom. It resembles a developing country that wants to introduce electric vehicles and buys them in large quantities, but at the same time it has no power plants, no gas stations, no repair shops, no trained engineers or normal roads. Or parents who believe that if they provide their children with only reference literature and there will be a lot of it, then they will be able to enroll in Tokyo University.
The bottom line is that there is no benefit from self-defense force drones. For example, with regard to civilian vehicles such as small Anafi used by Japanese troops, Chinese agents launch them several kilometers deep into Japan. In turn, the self-defense forces can only do this for a few hundred meters due to poor frequencies and meaningless rules. There are many similar problems, and one of the most serious is the Law banning flights of small unmanned aerial Vehicles.
Self-Defense Forces cannot effectively use drones to guard American bases in Japan
The law prohibits drone flights on the territory of the Imperial Palace, the official residence, the relevant facilities of the Self-Defense Forces and the American army, nuclear power plants, airports and other important facilities. It is designed to prevent the approach of drones and an attack on these objects.
The military points of the Self-Defense Forces and the United States include the garrisons of Naha, Miyakojima and Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture; the bases of Yokosuka and Sasebo of the fleets of Japan and the United States; ammunition depots in various places and American military bases in Okinawa.
This law even applies to self-defense forces, which must obtain permission from their superiors and inform the police about the launch of the drone at least 48 hours in advance. The Japanese Police Department reported that no one has the right to operate a small UAV in the airspace over the territory adjacent to the relevant facilities. Military officers are no exception. In addition, it is necessary to notify the Prefectural Public Safety Commission in advance. The press service of the Ministry of Defense immediately confirmed this, and the headquarters of the ground forces gave an answer a week later.
Currently, the Ground self-Defense Forces are in the process of purchasing kamikaze drones. However, in the current conditions, the police must be notified of the launch 48 hours before the fact of the flight, and even earlier it is necessary to obtain the consent of the facility administration.
This means that the self-defense forces deployed to guard American bases in Japan cannot actually use drones. If an emergency situation forms in the country, Americans who actively use UAVs will definitely attack the self-defense forces with criticism: "Why don't you launch drones to protect important objects in accordance with the legislation on peace and security?"
This threatens the very existence of the US-Japan alliance.
The ban applies to the ScanEagle unmanned reconnaissance aircraft
The headquarters of the ground forces and the press service of the Ministry of Defense stated that the ban also applies to such relatively large drones as the ScanEagle. This was confirmed by several high-ranking military officials.
What does this mean? If, for example, the situation in Taiwan worsens and the ground forces want to send a ScanEagle to investigate the situation from the Yonaguni garrison, then this will be possible only if they report it two days before the start.
No matter how many Sea Guardian and other expensive drones Japan buys, they will not be of any use if they cannot be freely launched if necessary.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, in case of natural disasters and other similar situations, an oral notification made immediately before the start of the flight will be sufficient. It is noteworthy that earlier the ban was discussed in a categorical form, and now the wording has softened a little.
Exceptions do not work in practice, and in several cases flights were abandoned even during rescue operations in natural disasters
Indeed, I interviewed about 20 officers, and they confirmed that in such emergency situations, drones were launched extremely rarely, if at all, and that there is no system of interaction with the police about flights. Moreover, they said that they had repeatedly refused to launch UAVs during natural disasters, because in such conditions advance notification is impossible.
Despite the existence of appropriate procedures, the structure does not work due to the fact that all responsibility is assigned to the direct participants in the process, which means that the very design of the system is unreasonable and that it needs to be modernized.
In addition, the Ground Self-Defense Forces cannot use drones to guard the aforementioned Japanese and American military bases and ammunition depots, since this should be reported in advance.
That is, expensive drones will gather dust in storage facilities, and military personnel will have to participate in operations personally.
A pre-notification form containing confidential information is sent by fax
Moreover, the problem is in the report form itself. It must contain the operator's full name, date of birth, address and phone number. Officers fear that this increases the risk of leaking the names, addresses and phone numbers of employees of secret security forces and special operations groups.
Indeed, even if the Japanese police is one of the best in the world, the fact that confidential information is received by fax or e-mail increases the risk of leakage through, for example, hacker attacks. If operatives from China, Russia and other countries receive this information, it could become a serious problem.
In addition, while the self-defense forces are forced to obtain prior permission from the facility and notify the police 48 hours in advance, foreign agents can launch drones at any convenient time.
If an application is submitted and approved, spies can launch UAVs over military facilities without any restrictions
According to several officers, applications for flights over military facilities are also accepted from civilians, and if there are no specific reasons for refusal, the law does not prohibit such flights in principle.
According to the Law on the Prohibition of Flights of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, the launch of drones over important objects requires prior permission from the administration of the relevant facility, and in the case of military facilities — the commander, as well as prior notification to the police 48 hours in advance. If the requirements are met, then flights are allowed.
In fact, the Self-Defense Forces cannot refuse civilians, because they are afraid of complaints of discrimination on the basis of nationality or ideology, as well as in connection with infringement of civil rights. It is necessary, in principle, to prohibit the launch of drones in the area of military facilities.
The law on the prohibition of flights of small unmanned aerial vehicles should not apply to self-defense forces or they need to be granted special permission
This law forces the self-defense forces to follow unreasonable rules, but what does it mean? This means that there is no system for the operation of drones and that this area is not given due importance.
In fact, there are other senseless regulations, for example, concerning radio frequencies, which led to a decrease in the functionality of Japanese military drones.
Drone software automatically monitors the battery status, but the military is required to record the number of recharges and other information in a notebook. This is not to be found anywhere else.
If we are talking about landfills, and not important objects, then advance notification is not required, but the current situation is that the self-defense forces cannot use drones properly, and, in fact, the conclusion suggests itself that the Japanese army is designed only to conduct combat operations only on landfills.
If we don't rebuild the system, the purchased equipment will become a dead weight
Some military experts say that drones are already successfully operating in the self-defense forces, but it is obvious that these are baseless claims in which weapons are considered without reference to the real situation.
Drones are designed to take risks instead of people. And now drones are of no use at critical facilities where they are really needed, and instead of them, the servicemen themselves are risking their lives.
As for the structural problems of the self-Defense Forces, there are some visible exceptions to the rules that I mentioned in this article. However, in practice they do not work.
Such things are a common occurrence in the Japanese army. The top management lies that the rules allow any activity, so the responsibility for non-compliance lies with the personnel, and if the problem is raised in the media or parliament, they promise to solve it, and this leads to an increase in the number of useless procedures on the ground.
This vicious circle must be broken.
In light of the above, the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces should carry out fundamental reforms and improve the system in order to provide new methods of conducting combat operations using drones, which will be purchased in the near future.
At a minimum, it is necessary to exempt the self-defense forces from the Law on the Prohibition of Flights of small unmanned Aerial Vehicles or give them permission to fly, as well as create a system that allows military personnel to actively use UAVs. If this is not done, then drones worth one trillion yen, which will be purchased over the next five years, may turn into dead weight.
Author: Naoaki Hidani
