Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told an Upper House committee on Thursday that the ministry has no plans to introduce genetically modified military dogs. Responding to a question from Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) lawmaker Maiko Tajima, Koizumi also challenged her account of how the issue arose, urging her to “state the facts accurately.”
Tajima Links Issue to Social Media Post
Tajima suggested that the issue originated with a photograph Koizumi had posted on social media.
Tajima suggested that the issue originated with a photograph Koizumi had posted on social media with the head of a US company reportedly planning to use gene-editing and cloning technology to breed dogs for dangerous missions.
She then asked whether the Defense Ministry had any plans to adopt similar technology for military dogs.
Concept Floated by US Defense Tech Firm?
Koizumi rejected Tajima’s account as a “complete misunderstanding of the facts.”
He pointed to an October 24 report in the Nikkei business daily about a proposal involving Palmer Luckey, founder of the US defense technology company Anduril, and others.
Koizumi explained that he had posted a photograph of himself shaking hands with Luckey on X the previous December, well before the report appeared. He argued that the photograph had only later been picked up and linked to the proposal.
Koizumi Pushes Back, Clarifies Ministry’s Position
Koizumi questioned the fairness of linking an earlier meeting to developments reported months later, pointing out that politicians shake hands with countless people. “Don’t you find that unfair?” he asked, urging Tajima to “state the facts accurately.”
Turning to the ministry’s position, Koizumi was unequivocal: “The Defense Ministry is not considering introducing genetically modified military dogs at all.”
He explained that the ministry already uses dogs for search and rescue, base security, and explosives detection. The dogs also participated in rescue operations following this year’s earthquake in Kumamoto, where they “performed well,” he said.
Tajima thanked Koizumi for his clear response and moved on to her next question.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Daisuke Sawada, The Sankei Shimbun
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