SMOKE DETECTORS

Among those surprised by the drug-abuse scandal at the Maritime
Self-Defense Force, the MSDF itself may be the most.

"The police were way ahead of us," said a senior MSDF official. "We
are having a hard time just keeping up with the facts of what happened."

The arrests of six MSDF personnel since July 17 on violation of the
Cannabis Control Law has pointed up the force's lack of compulsory
drug-testing, a standard measure in the U.S. Navy since 1982.

Yet, although many insist the ever-widening scandal shows that random
drug-testing is long overdue, many MSDF officials remain reluctant to
take the step.

"Privacy must be respected, even among MSDF members," said an officer
who once commanded a destroyer.

But those familiar with the SDF say the truth goes deeper.

"The reason the SDF respects the privacy of its personnel is because
it has a hard time recruiting them," said Kensuke Ebata, a
commentator on military issues.

The fact is, with many ships unable to fill crew quotas, some are
arguing that a more hard-line, less-private MSDF with strict
drug-testing regulations would not be able to find enough personnel
to steer its vessels, period.

Of the arrests made so far, all but one were by prefectural police.
Only the last, on Sept. 28, was an MSDF operation, in this case by
its shore police unit.

The arrests have ranged from one MSDF member suspected of possessing
Ecstasy in August (who was later released without indictment), to
submarine crew members based at Yokosuka suspected of possession or
trafficking of marijuana in violation of the Cannabis Control Law.

Yet the force has never conducted random drug tests.

There is some limited drug testing within the ground, maritime and
air divisions of the SDF. Urine tests began in July 2002, following
arrests in 2001 for stimulant use of an MSDF member stationed in
Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and a communications member of the
Yokosuka force.

But the limited drug tests, conducted on new recruits and new
students at the National Defense Academy, are by consent.

Of the 800 mostly submarine crew personnel the Maritime Staff Office
has tested since this summer's arrests, all have been with the
individuals' consent.

The office has set up a special investigation team since the arrests.
But Defense Agency officials say that for mandatory, random tests on
SDF members already serving, they would need new legal measures.

And they say the privacy issue must be addressed.

"It's difficult to investigate (MSDF members') personal lives," said
the former destroyer commander.

He said consent is required to search individual lockers aboard
ships, and remains adverse to the idea of a compulsory search of
private possessions for illegal substances.

But Ebata, who supports compulsory testing, points to the staffing problem.

"As things stand, some MSDF ships cannot fill their crew quotas
because few people want to become ship crew, which involves being
away from home a lot," he said. "If urine tests become compulsory,
members would likely back away even more from ship duty."

Yet drug testing is not a novel concept among military forces. The
U.S. Navy introduced urine tests for all new recruits over 20 years
ago, in 1982.

All serving personnel, from sailors to officers, are subjected to
surprise tests. Computers select crew at random, who are immediately
escorted to the test area and are required to produce urine samples
in the presence of military police or other officers.

Not that it stops U.S. Navy personnel from trying to pull the wool
over their superiors' eyes from time to time.

Last year, 19 crew members on the cruiser USS Vincennes stationed at
Yokosuka Naval Base were caught for drug use after trying to pass off
other crew members' urine samples as their own, or for using a
neutralizing agent they bought via the Internet.

The Navy's Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka now punishes its personnel just
for possessing substances that manipulate drug tests.

Those caught in drug cases face a dishonorable or bad-conduct
discharge. It is entered in their veteran records and affects their
future search for employment. They are ineligible for scholarships,
pensions and other veteran benefits.

In 1982, 7.21 percent of randomly selected Navy personnel tested
positive for drugs. But due in part to the new testing regulations
the percentage dropped below the 1-percent mark in the early 1990s.
And between October 2004 and April 2005, the Navy says, fewer than
0.3 percent of its personnel have tested positive.