Dispatching SDF doesn't help root out terrorism: Shii

After the House of Representatives passed a bill to extend the Anti-terrorism Special Measures Law on October 3, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stated, "It is unacceptable to pass such a crucial bill without having sufficient discussion."

Asked by the press for comments, Shii said, "As we can see in post-war Afghanistan, war only expands the grounds for terrorism and violence." He stressed the need to root out problems by judgment and policing under international cooperation.

The JCP chair also criticized the government for failing to explain why the Self Defense-Forces, which had been dispatched to support the war in Afghanistan under the anti-terrorism law, were assisting the U.S. forces in fighting the Iraq war.

Shii expressed his determination to block the bill in the Upper House and to demand that the SDF be withdrawn from the Indian Ocean. (end)