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This report has also disturbed several leading U.S. Senators, such as
Gary Hart of Colorado, who have grave reservations about what they
perceive to be a grave mistake in Pentagon defense targeting: putting
so many eggs (minus the neutron bomb) in the NATO basket but ignoring
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the vital necessity to maintain a strong U.S. Navy on all oc�ans, vital
to keeping American lines open to all the world. America, nftcr .:tl l,
is really a huge island, separated by the oceans from both its allies
and its primary sources of raw materials. Yet, �he naval shipbuilding
program for the next fiscal year has recently been whacked in half.
The Japanese realize that the U.S. Navy would be stretched far to
guarantee Japan's sea lines of communications in time of war. Japan
can do little to help itself. Under the 1948 constitution imposed
by the United States and revised during the Korean War, the country
maintains a bare-bones self-defense force of ground, air and sea
units. But total personnel is only about 270,000, of whom about 180,
000 are ground forces. The biggest naval vessels permitted Japan are
destroyer.
s; all told the Navy has about 60 surface ships and 15 sub
marines.
The Japanese historically have felt vulnerable because of their
dependence on raw materials, e·
specially oil, coming from outside
the country. Said a non-Japanese military strategist, living in
Tokyo: "If the United States Navy cannot guarantee those raw materials,
the country could not survive for a month."
The lack of confidence in America's commitment to defend Japan was
revealed recently in a public opinion poll taken by a leading Japanese
newspaper. "Do you think that the United States would really defend
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Japan in the case of emergency?" was the question. Thirty-eight
percent replied� and only 21 percent said yes.
--Gene Hogberg, News Bureau
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