Tuesday, December 18, 2018, 13:00 - 14:00
Shintaro Ishihara, Author, Former Governor of Tokyo
Masaru Sasaki, Former Vice President of Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Medical Treatment Corp.
(The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with interpretation)
"Ex-Tokyo Governor Ishihara Calls for Enhanced Medical Responses to Save Japanese Troops"
Four years after retiring from politics, former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara remains prolific as a controversial author and commentator.
The 86-year-old, who served in the Diet from 1968 to 1995, will call for better medical responses to emergencies involving members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF). Although they risk their lives in defense of their country, their lives "are not necessarily defended," Ishihara has said.
Ishihara has cited a collision in October between a van carrying two Japanese SDF soldiers and a truck near Subic Bay, the Philippines. Sgt. Suguru Maehara died from head injuries after spending four days in a coma at a local hospital. The two men were members of a Japanese unit taking part in a joint drill with soldiers from the US and the Philippines.
Masaru Sasaki, a former vice president of Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Medical Treatment Corporation and an expert in disaster response and management, will join Ishihara to share his concerns about healthcare provision for SDF personnel.
Ishihara, who stepped down as Tokyo governor in 2012 after 13 years in office, has backed calls for Japan to develop nuclear weapons to counter China, North Korea and Russia.
He is still active as a writer. Tensai (Genius), his biography of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, topped Japan's best-seller list in 2016. He is perhaps best known for his 1988 polemic The Japan That Can Say No (with Akio Morita), which was published in English in 1991.
5F Marunouchi Nijubashi Bldg., 3-2-3, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005
Doors open for TV crew at 12:15, For all others at 12:30, still cameras included.
Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.
Professional Activities Committee
