On July 30th, local time, the Japan Ministry of Defense released an investigative report on a “false transaction” involving Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ use of a submarine maintenance project by the Self-Defense Forces to provide bribes to members. The report also pointed out that aside from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and other three companies had discovered similar fraudulent activities. Consequently, the Japan Ministry of Defense held Kawasaki Heavy Industries accountable for its supervisory responsibilities regarding the fraud, and announced disciplinary actions against relevant personnel in the Self-Defense Forces.
According to this decision, a total of 92 individuals in the Self-Defense Forces were disciplined or warned, including the highest-ranking officer of the Self-Defense Forces, Saito Tsuneo, who received a one-month salary reduction, amounting to one tenth of his salary. The Deputy Chief of Staff for the Self-Defense Forces, Tanaka Hiroki, was also given a “verbal severe warning” due to “insufficient guidance” to the Chief of the Self-Defense Forces. Saito Tsuneo also held a press conference on the evening of the 30th, expressing his apologies to the relevant parties.
On the evening of the 30th, Saito Tsuneo held a press conference to apologize.
Recently, there have been frequent scandals within the Self-Defense Forces. First, in April 2024, the Ministry of Defense announced widespread violations of non-confidentiality among personnel on Self-Defense Forces vessels, and in July, it discovered a “deliberate misappropriation of diving allowances” by several years, affecting nearly 200 people. Also in July last year, the Ministry of Defense reported to the Liberal Democratic Party that Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which had obtained submarine orders, had been using secret funds to provide catering and other forms of bribes to members of the Self-Defense Forces, including submariners. The scale of this funding “has exceeded 1 billion yen in a few years” and “about 200 million yen annually,” following a series of scandals. Following these revelations, Saito Tsuneo resigned as Chief of the Self-Defense Forces on July 19, 2024, with Saito Tsuneo taking over as Chief of the Self-Defense Forces.
On December 27th last year, the Ministry of Defense released a special defense investigation mid-term report on this time. The report found that similar behavior had begun as early as 1985, and by around 2000, three subcontractors from Kawasaki Heavy Industries were involved. The companies involved in these transactions falsified purchases of one-time items such as rubber mats, and engaged in fraudulent transactions amounting to approximately 1.7 billion yen over six years from 2018 to 2023. Some companies’ false transactions even accounted for 80% of the total transaction amount. It is said that some of the funds misappropriated through these false transactions were used for personal expenses such as dining out with Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ project leaders and submarine crew members, purchasing gaming consoles, fishing gear, and other private items, as well as providing tools, appliances, monitors related to work within the submarine, and shopping lists (for purchasing items) mainly for outdoor brands such as cold-weather gear and safety shoes. Additionally, some funds were allocated for Kawasaki Heavy Industries employees to purchase personal items, reward construction workers, and distribute profits to subcontractors. A case in the report shows that using these fraudulently obtained funds, Kawasaki Heavy Industries purchased approximately 1.4 million yen worth of personal items for at least 13 submarine crew members, including a member who received a total value of 500,000 yen in items. These individuals will also face further disciplinary actions.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is one of Japan’s two major submarine manufacturing companies, alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The Ministry of Defense ultimately determined that in addition to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan Maritime Joint Corporation (JMU), and Yokosuka Heavy Industries have also provided improper items according to the requirements of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF). The MSDF created fake construction directives for obtaining the relevant funds.
Due to the Self-Defense Force’s belief that the series of issues originated from the Maritime Self-Defense Force, and considering that Kawasaki Heavy Industries did not exceed project budgets, three other companies primarily provided equipment for vessel monitoring and chairs. Additionally, they refused requests from crew members for personal items and living supplies on board. Consequently, only severe warnings or disciplinary actions were taken, without temporarily suspending bidding qualifications.