Toshio Tamogami

Toshio Tamogami
田母神 俊雄
Tamogami in 2024
Born (1948-07-22) July 22, 1948 (age 76)
Kōriyama, Fukushima, Japan
AllegianceJapan
Service/branchJapan Air Self-Defense Force
Years of service1971–2008
RankGeneral
CommandsChief of Staff, Air Self Defense Force
Commander in Chief of the Air Defence Command
Southwestern Air Defense Force
6th Air Wing
Alma materNational Defense Academy of Japan (BS)
Signature
Gen. Toshio Tamogami in August 2008

Toshio Tamogami (田母神 俊雄, Tamogami Toshio, born July 22, 1948)[1] is a retired Japan Air Self-Defense Force general and politician. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Air Self-Defense Force from March 2007 until his dismissal in October 31, 2008.

Tamogami was dismissed in 2008 due to a controversial essay he wrote. In the essay, he denied that Japan was an aggressor in World War II and claimed that Japan had been drawn into the war by Chiang Kai-shek and Franklin D. Roosevelt. He also argued that Japan's wartime actions were not acts of aggression but were justified as self-defense and efforts to "liberate Asia from Western colonialism."[1][2][3][4]

Tamogami turned to politics following his retirement from the military. In 2014 he ran as a candidate for governor of Tokyo and for the House of Representatives; in which he both lost. He was arrested in April 2016 for alleged violations of campaign finance laws (illegal payments to supporters) in relation to his gubernatorial campaign.[5] He made a political comeback in 2024 by running for the Tokyo gubernatorial election, but placed fourth and performed worse compared to his 2014 run.[6] He has been described as a "champion of Japan's right wing". He denies that women were forced by the Empire of Japan into sex work as "comfort women" and that the Nanjing Massacre occurred.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ a b "Japan air force chief faces sack". BBC News. 2008-10-31.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference search.japantimes.co.jp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference JapanTimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Ex-ASDF chief Tamogami arrested over election funds". The Asahi Shimbun. April 14, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Shimbun, The Sankei (2024-07-07). "Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike Wins Third Term | JAPAN Forward". japan-forward.com. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).