Women in Diet demand prime minister's opposition to war on Iraq

Forty-two women members of the Diet, who account for 60 percent of all women lawmakers, have signed a petition demanding that Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro oppose a possible war on Iraq. Representatives of this women's action submitted the signatures to the prime minister on March 12.

The forty-two women included 13 Japanese Communist, 12 Democratic, 11 Social Democratic, 1 Liberal, and 1 Liberal Democratic party members as well as 4 non-affiliated lawmakers. No Komei Party member supported this action.

JCP member Yoshikawa Haruko, one of the organizers of this petition, told the press that it is significant for women lawmakers to set aside their political differences to join together to defend peace at a time when tension is increasing over Iraq. (end)