Stop the permanent law to send SDF abroad -- Akahata editorial, October 9In the House of Councilors discussion on the extension of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, representatives of the Liberal Democratic and Democratic parties have suggested the need for permanent legislation to allow the Self-Defense Forces to be sent abroad.
It is legislation to enable the SDF to be sent at any time to any wars or conflicts throughout the world.
This issue brings Japan to a serious crossroads over the question: Is Japan going to contribute to defending world peace under the Constitution or uncritically follow and assist the United States in future wars?
Assisting in an endless wars
Soon after the law to send the SDF to Iraq was enacted last July, the Koizumi Cabinet began focusing on the early enactment of a permanent law enabling the SDF dispatch abroad.
The LDP and the DPJ have recently renewed their call for such legislation because they have realized that the SDF participation in the "war on terrorism" will be endless.
The dispatch abroad of the SDF marks a departure from the constitutional principle of peace. It is a road to permanently drag Japan into supporting U.S. wars.
The danger of the SDF dispatch being made permanent is present even before the enactment of the proposed law.
Asked how long the SDF deployment to the Indian Ocean will last, Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro said, "As long as there are threats of terrorist attacks." Given the fact that the U.S. war is causing a proliferation of terrorist forces throughout the world, it is no wonder that he is unable to show an exit strategy.
The Koizumi Cabinet's plan to send the SDF to Iraq is even more serious. The Chief Cabinet Secretary could not answer a question asked by an LDP representatives in the Diet: "In what situation would the SDF dispatch end?"
The Japanese aggression against China and the U.S. war of aggression against Vietnam show that it is not easy for military forces invading another country to find an exit. If Japan sends SDF units to Iraq under U.S. occupation, they will be seen as aggressors like U.S. forces and will get dragged into a quagmire.
This LDP representative, who asked about the likelihood of ending the SDF dispatch, was aware of this danger when he stated, "Remember the Greater East Asian War (Pacific War); Japan has a bad habit of going to war without thinking of how to end it."
The Koizumi Cabinet rammed the SDF-Iraq law through the Diet and a permanent overseas-dispatch law is now on its political agenda.
The Koizumi Cabinet and the ruling parties are pushing ahead with its reckless schemes. The opposition DPJ also rides on this course. Okada Katsuya, DPJ secretary general, stated, "It will be a better idea to send the SDF to participate in multinational forces if a U.N. resolution endorses it."
Whether in support of U.S. wars or as part of a U.N.-led multinational force, Japan must not dispatch armed forces to any country because of the Constitution stipulating that Japan must contribute to world peace through non-military efforts.
In proposing a U.N. resolution aimed at forming a multinational force in Iraq, the United States is clinging to maintaining its leadership with military occupation. The dispatch abroad of the SDF is tantamount to assisting the U.S. unilateralism that is destroying the international order of peace.
Defending peace in Japan and the world
The Japanese Communist Party firmly opposes any overseas dispatch of the SDF, including one to Iraq, showing a way for Japan to take a lead in the effort to defend the world peace through compliance with the Japanese Constitution.
The United States must end its occupation of Iraq at the earliest possible date, and turn over the initiative for assisting Iraq's reconstruction to the United Nations.
This accords with the wishes of the Japanese people and the international community alike, and is confirmed by opinion polls showing that the majority of people are opposing the SDF dispatch to Iraq and by the fact that many countries in the Middle East and the rest of the world are expecting Japan to contribute to defending world peace in line with its constitutional principles. (end)