JCP renews its determination to fight for peace in Asia and World

On the 56th anniversary of the end of WWII on August 15, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi published the following statement:

At the 21st century's first anniversary of the end of the War, the Japanese Communist Party expresses its sincere respects to those who fell victims in and outside Japan to the war of aggression. The JCP reaffirms the contemporary significance of the principles of peace and democracy which were established in the Constitution based on the bitter lessons of history and renews its determination to take the lead in efforts to build a new Japan, independent and peaceful.

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro dared to visit Yasukuni Shrine on August 13 in defiance of calls on him not to. It was two days earlier than initially planned. Notwithstanding the change of date, the issue remains unchanged.

Yasukuni Shrine served as a spiritual mainstay for promoting militarism and carrying out the war of aggression. Even after the war it has retained its founding objectives. Along with the many soldiers who were forced to give their lives in the war for the emperor, Class-A war criminals, who were responsible for prosecuting the war, are enshrined in Yasukuni as "martyrs of the Showa era," thus misrepresenting them as "victims."

Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro in 1985 came under severe criticism inside and outside Japan when he paid an official visit to Yasukuni Shrine. This was why the government issued a chief cabinet secretary statement on August 14, 1986 suspending such visits in order to avoid causing "misunderstanding or mistrust" of its stated reflection on the past war.

The prime minister's Yasukuni visit was also an act of turning away from the commitment he had maintained to put himself in a position of affirming his approval of the past war of aggression.

The Koizumi Cabinet has endorsed the former cabinet's approval of the "New History Textbook" which stands firmly for the view that the past war was a just war. Some schools has adopted this textbook for use in the school year starting in April 2002.

Also, Prime Minister Koizumi has publicly stated that he wants to see the Constitution revised as early as possible, and ordered a "study" of the right to collective self-defense. This is how he is getting more hostile to the Constitution's Article 9.

Prime Minister Koizumi is doing all this in defiance of the political principle established for Japan after the War, which is a "reflection on the war of aggression." The more the Koizumi Cabinet clings to this defiance, the stronger will criticism grow in Japan and other Asian nations.

The national task now is to develop public opinion and the movement in opposition to the anachronistic attempt to trample on peace and support no more wars, which Japan has pledged based on the historical lessons.

During the 79 years since its founding, the JCP has consistently opposed wars of aggression and called for the principle that sovereignty rests in the people. We will continue to do our utmost to fight against every attempt to disregard the lessons of history and every attempt to reverse history. We will also make every effort to achieve peace in Asia and the world, making full use of the constitutional principles of peace and democracy. (end)