Japan's air chief shot down over WW2 claims

The head of the Japanese airforce has been sacked for claiming his country was not an “aggressor” in the Second World War.

Air Self-Defence Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami said Japan was trapped into getting involved in the conflict by the United States.

A defence ministry spokesman today said he would be removed from his post.

Tamogami outline his views in an essay titled “Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?” for a writing competition.

He said it was “false” to say Japan was “an aggressor nation” during the war and attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, was as a result of a trap laid by President Franklin D Roosevelt.