Don't repeat the same mistakes: JCP vice-chair at Diet discussion on wartime bills

Parliamentary discussion on the three wartime bills began in the House of Representative plenary session on April 26, the first anniversary of the Koizumi Cabinet.

On behalf of the Japanese Communist Party, Vice-chair Ishii Ikuko took the floor. When she opened her speech by saying, "I, as a mother, cannot allow Japan to make the same mistakes again," a hushed silence fell on the Diet.

She criticized the bills for trampling on principles of democracy, such as human rights, freedom, local autonomy, and Article 9 of the Constitution which renounces war. She pointed out that the bills are aimed at building a new national regime that will abandon the Constitution and put priority on wars.

Angry voices echoed from early in the morning as protesters surrounded the Diet Building. Many people came to Tokyo from all over Japan to press their constituency representatives to vote against the bills, and many came to attend a session of the Diet discussion. Religious people, citizens organizations, and union members carried out demonstrations and rallies outside the Diet Building.

While the gallery was crowded with concerned citizens, Diet seats allotted to the Liberal Democratic Party were almost empty.

After listening to the discussion, a woman in the gallery said, "Any LDP Dietmembers who were absent from the session are not qualified to be national representatives. I'm afraid they are not willing to discuss the bills thoroughly before putting them to a vote."

A Labor Ministry's staff member who was protesting outside the Diet Building said, "The role of pubic job placement officers during WWII was to mobilize civilians to war, like the present-day officers are offering jobs to unemployed citizens. The wartime legislation greatly effects my job." (end)