Senior Japanese defense official to visit Seoul

Japan plans to dispatch a senior defense official to a military athlete competition scheduled to kick off this week in Korea and is expected to discuss security cooperation with policymakers here, sources said Wednesday.

The three-day trip from Thursday by Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Kenji Harada came after Tokyo shelved its initial plan to send Minister Gen. Nakatani. The visit was chiefly designed for the Military World Games in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, but had boosted anticipation that he would hold talks with his counterpart, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo.

The two top defense policymakers met for the first time in about four years in May on the sidelines of an international security conference in Singapore.

“(Nakatani) had apparently sought to come himself, but changed his plan due to internal matters, such as a possible cabinet reshuffle, and for our part, there is a parliamentary audit underway here,” a military official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The decision appears to have also reflected the sensitivity surrounding Japan’s recent overturn of the pacifist constitution to allow its military to fight overseas that has triggered concerns over the Shinzo Abe administration’s ongoing revisionist push.

Japan is a member of the International Military Sports Council, the organizer of the quadrennial multisports event, but did not dispatch any players given the unique, noncombat status of its Self-Defense Forces.

About 120 countries are set to compete during a 10-day run starting Oct. 2.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)