Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist Hirano Keiichiro said on November 6 that disaster management minister Hosono Goshi is 'unfit' for the post, after Hosono raised the possibility of attacks exploiting a major disaster.
In a post on X, Hirano cited Hosono's remarks at a press conference and wrote: "We have received support from countries all over the world, and this is what he says."
Hosono spoke at a November 2 press conference marking the launch of the Disaster Management Agency. Asked about coordination with the Self-Defense Forces and preparations for emergencies, he said Japan needs a system able to respond to disasters on a national scale.
He listed preparation for a disaster overlapping with a security emergency as a second task. Hosono served in the government during the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, when the tsunami and the nuclear accident put the Self-Defense Forces into something close to a full mobilization.
“I thought about whether we could respond if, by some chance, a security emergency had occurred at that time.”Hosono Goshi, disaster management minister
At the time, the world sympathized with disaster-stricken Japan, but more than 15 years have passed and the world has changed greatly, Hosono said. He said there is now a possibility that some country could "strike" Japan while it is weakened by a disaster.
Hosono did not name any country. He also cited cyberattacks as an example. Disaster response should proceed under the agency, while the government as a whole considers the overlapping scenario in parallel, he said, adding that he is discussing the matter with defense minister Koizumi Shinjiro.
'Why say only things that provoke neighboring countries?'
Hirano quoted Hosono's press conference remarks in his post on X and added his own criticism. J-CAST News reported his response.
The novelist asked why the minister says only things that provoke neighboring countries. He also wrote that Hosono has no qualification to serve as disaster management minister.