Nov. 20--Unsworn testimony before an Upper House committee last week shed light on axed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami's nationalist views, but questions persist over how such a vocal revisionist was appointed ASDF chief to begin with.

Born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1948, Tamogami graduated from the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1971. He served as chief of the Air Defense Command as well as the head of its equipment division before being appointed ASDF chief of staff in March 2007.

Some experts questioned Tamogami's unusual appointment to the ASDF's top job, since he had only served as head of the logistics and welfare sections instead of the mainstream planning and operations division.

Hirofumi Hayashi, a professor at Kanto Gakuin University and an expert on modern Japanese history, pointed out that Tamogami may have landed the top post because of his close ties with Toshio Motoya, head of hotel and condo developer Apa Group, who had connections with then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a staunch nationalist.

The controversial essay contest Tamogami won, and was subsequently sacked for, was sponsored and organized by the Apa Group. Its theme, "True Modern History," allowed the general to try to justify Japan's wartime aggression.

"I can only speculate," Hayashi said, noting Motoya may have served as an intermediary between Tamogami and Abe.

"The close relationship between the Apa Group and former Prime Minister Abe is widely known," Hayashi said.

Tamogami is believed to have befriended Motoya during his stint at the ASDF's Komatsu base in Ishikawa Prefecture. Motoya organized and ran a local group of residents who supported the activities of the base, which Tamogami commanded from 1998 to 1999.

According to media reports, Motoya was given a special tour of the base for his contribution and once was even allowed to sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet.

But the Apa Group owner is also the key member of Anshin-Kai, a group of supporters of Abe.

The two have a close relationship, as described in the December 2005 issue of an Apa Group magazine, which includes a photo of Abe attending a wine party at Motoya's home.

Hayashi, who specializes in Okinawa's wartime history, was at the center of the textbook revision controversy in 2007, when Abe instructed publishers to modify statements that claimed Okinawa residents were forced by the military into committing mass suicide and murder-suicide during the Battle of Okinawa.

The height of Abe's hawkishness coincided with Tamogami's appointment as ASDF chief, Hayashi noted.