Defense Ministry admits to mishandling of oil data error

The Defense Ministry admitted Monday to having mishandled an error in underreporting the amount of oil Japan provided to the United States in a 2003 refueling mission in the Indian Ocean — a fiasco that angered cabinet ministers as it had led them to make false public statements.

In a report submitted to both ruling and opposition parties, the ministry said it will set up a committee headed by Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba later Monday to deal with the problem and consider reprimanding relevant people, describing the matter as "a very serious problem concerning civilian control." The report said Maritime Self-Defense Force officers were aware on May 9, 2003 of the data input error regarding the controversial Feb 25, 2003 refueling mission, but failed to immediately report it to their superiors.
The amount of oil the MSDF supply ship Tokiwa gave to a U.S. oil tanker was first recorded in an MSDF document as 200,000 U.S. gallons. Top officials of the MSDF and the Defense Agency prepared statements on the refueling missions based on that figure.