Sending SDF to Iraq is unconstitutional: Kunitachi mayor sends statement to PM Koizumi

A local government head in Tokyo urged Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro to cancel the plan to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, claiming that the plan is unconstitutional.

Kunitachi City Mayor Uehara Hiroko sent a statement to the prime minister on December 4, pointing out that Iraq is still in a state of war and that sending the SDF to Iraq is in practicality an "overseas deployment of troops," which is unconstitutional.

Uehara referred to the prime minister's remark that he considers the SDF as military forces, and criticized him for violating Article 9 of the Constitution which prohibits Japan from maintaining any military units or fighting in foreign wars.

Quoting from the preamble to the Constitution, "We desire to occupy an honored place in an international society," the mayor stated that what this means is not that Japan should get ready to use weapons and create a chain of reaction. The government should immediately cancel the plan to dispatch the SDF and strive to avoid further casualties caused through government actions, she stressed. (end)