Decades of collusion between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the defense industry have come to light. Now is the time to discontinue these corrupt practices.

The Ministry of Defense has released an interim report following a special defense inspection over the finding that Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. provided goods to Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) submarine crew members. The gifts were not limited to parts and tools for onboard duties, but extended to consumer electronics, gaming consoles, golf equipment, fishing gear and wristwatches.

When conducting regular inspections at its Kobe factory, Kawasaki Heavy feigned transactions for materials and other items with subcontractors to create a slush fund amounting to some 1.7 billion yen (about $10.75 million) over the six years through fiscal 2023 alone. It was testified that these funds were used to purchase goods and cover dining expenses with crew members. The fictitious transactions and the provision of goods began at least 40 years ago.

Parts for official duties are supposed to be acquired through legitimate procedures, but since this process took time, the MSDF apparently relied on Kawasaki Heavy, which responded quickly.

Worse than this, however, is the MSDF's creation of lists of requested goods, including personal items. This practice continued in an organized manner for a long time, revealing a blatant disregard for compliance.

Kawasaki Heavy explained that it was unable to refuse the requests, but there were business incentives involved.

The cost of provided goods was incorporated into the base price of submarine inspections and repairs. It is believed that by inflating the baseline price to make its profit margin appear smaller, the company hoped to prevent future order amounts being cut.

This resulted in wasteful use of taxpayers' money, which cannot be overlooked. It is only natural for the Ministry of Defense to demand the return of the overcharged amounts from Kawasaki Heavy. The full extent of the improper practices must be unraveled quickly and the crew members involved must face stringent disciplinary action.

The impropriety was first uncovered through an investigation by tax authorities into Kawasaki Heavy. The failure of oversight mechanisms within both the Self-Defense Forces and the company is alarming.

With defense spending set to increase to a total of 43 trillion yen (roughly $272 billion) over the next five years until fiscal 2027, stricter budget management is required.

The Ministry of Defense has faced a string of scandals, with disciplinary action for power harassment by senior officials and mishandling of classified information also announced at the same time late last year. Without addressing organizational complacency, public trust cannot be regained.