Koizumi is reluctant to speak against U.S. war on Iraq

Japanese Communist Party Yoshii Hidekatsu in the Diet pressed Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro to reveal to the United States Japan's opposition to the use of force on the Iraq issue, but the prime minister evaded the point, saying that he cannot answer a "hypothetical" question.

At the House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on January 27, Prime Minister Koizumi only reiterated that Iraq must comply with the U.N. resolutions, but stopped short of expressing his opposition to a U.S. military attack on Iraq.

JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi at a news conference on the same day criticized the government for being submissive to the United States, saying, "He, as the prime minister of the country with a war-renouncing Constitution, should speak out against the war and urge the U.S. government to respect the U.N. resolutions."

"Now that U.S. troops are actually deployed in the Persian Gulf and the no-fly zone over southern Iraq, it is irresponsible for Mr. Koizumi to avoid giving a clear stance against the use of force by saying that it is a 'hypothetical' question," Ichida added. (end)