Iha runs for Okinawan governor to block US base construction

Iha Yoichi, a firm opponent of the new U.S. base construction in Okinawa, is running in Okinawa’s gubernatorial election with the support of the Japanese Communist, Social Democratic, and Okinawa Social Mass parties. The following is an Akahata interview with Iha who calls for a base-free Okinawa in his election campaign.

COP10 host nation shuts eyes to corporate destruction of environment

Japanese Communist Party representative Ichida Tadayoshi at a November 11 Upper House Environment Committee meeting criticized the government for neglecting Toyota’s development of facilities on an environmentally-rich area, contradicting the pledge Japan expressed at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10).

SDF medics dispatched to Afghanistan may pave way to sending SDF combatants

The DPJ-led government plans to send about 10 Self-Defense Force doctors and nurses to Afghanistan by the end of this year. There is a concern that a military unit will also be dispatched in the name of guarding the SDF medical unit.