A 33-year-old senior officer at the Air Self-Defense Force's Matsushima Base in Miyagi Prefecture has been arrested and dismissed after he admitted taking stimulant drugs, Defense Agency officials said Feb. 14.
The officer was arrested earlier this month by the military police on base and was later transferred to local judicial authorities, the officials said. The officer's name and rank have been withheld.
Investigators at the base are trying to determine how the officer obtained the stimulants and whether other ASDF members are involved. According to the officials, Matsushita base investigators learned in late January that the officer was taking stimulants. He tested positive in a drug test and was served an arrest warrant on Feb. 3. The ASDF also dismissed the officer as a punitive measure.
The officer, a native of Miyagi Prefecture, initially joined the Ground Self-Defense Force in 1982 but later moved to the ASDF. He was assigned to the Matsushima base in 1993 in the aircraft maintenance section.