End political leniency towards rightists' acts of terrorism

Commenting on the murder of Democratic Party of Japan House of Representatives member Ishii Koki on October 25, Akahata on October 28 pointed out that there is a political climate in Japan that allows extreme rightist and violent groups freedom to do as they please.

Going against democracy

Since prewar days, rightists have basically been terrorists operating under the principle "a rightist must kill at least one person," which is contrary to democracy.

Since the end of WWII, rightists have had their own way by claiming that they are pro-U.S., pro-establishment and anti-communist. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and business circles have used rightists as their strong-arm detachments instrumental for maintaining their rule.

Ito Izumi, the murderer of Ishii, is one of such atrocious terrorists. In 1988, he broke into the Japanese Communist Party head office, seriously injuring two JCP staff members. He demanded an apology from the JCP "for Newspaper Akahata's anti-Emperor reports."

Introducing himself as a good friend of major political and business figures, Ito frequently visited the offices of LDP Dietmembers and Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members.

The Liberal Party, one of the LDP's predecessors, was funded by late Kodama Yoshio, a major rightist leader, who had made a lot of money during the war by operating a secret agency for the Imperial Army. From the beginning, the LDP has maintained cozy relations with rightist groups.

In a sense, the LDP has assimilated rightists into its fold.

For example, the late Takeshita Noboru (former prime minister) was revealed to have been meeting with leaders of one of the rightist gangster groups called Daito-juku, at the prime minister's residence. He also accepted becoming the honorary president of a right wing organization called "Association for the Defense of Freedom and Peace." An LDP members' group "LDP Comrade-in-arms" included a leader of a rightist group "Zen'ai-kai."

At the time of the 1987 LDP presidential election, Takeshita asked for help from former president of Inagawa-kai, one of the major rightist gangsters' groups, in an effort to stop an anti-Takeshita campaign by another rightist group and help him to become the president of the LDP. Several other LDP Dietmembers also made contacts with the rightists for similar purposes. How shameful it was that rightists were implicated in the establishment of a cabinet.

Government and LDP have supported rightists

Atrocious acts of terrorism and outrageous activities by the extreme right wing continue endlessly. This is because the government and the LDP have protected them as their "friends" on the grounds that they share a common view of anti-communism.

In 1982, Miyazawa Kiichi, prime minister at the time, said in the Diet that atrocious acts of terrorism and lawless activities are rampant because there is freedom of thought. The police have never controlled the rightists in the real sense of the word.

In order to end the rightists' acts of terrorism, it is necessary to strictly criticize the political leniency which has allowed right wing violent groups to do whatever they want. (end)