Japanese Communist Party leaders on April 12 met with families of three Japanese who are held hostage in Iraq and promised the families to do all they can to facilitate their rescue.
JCP Chair Shii Kazuo and JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi received the families of Imai Noriaki, Koriyama Soichiro, and Takato Naoko as they petitioned each political party.
The families demanded a withdrawal of the SDF from Iraq to save the three lives and a meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi who has so far refused to meet them. They also requested that the JCP urge the government to make the United States stop the fighting in Iraq.
Pointing out that back-to-back attacks in Falluja have worsened the situation in Iraq, Shii said, "More than 500 Iraqis have been killed in U.S. attacks on a mosque and residential districts. The JCP will strive to move Japan's government inside and outside the Diet to make the United States stop creating a rampage in Iraq."
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In a House of Representative committee meeting on the same day, JCP Akamine Seiken demanded that the government withdraw the SDF from Iraq and do everything to rescue the three hostages. He also requested the prime minister to meet with the families of the three.
Akamine said that the cruel U.S. acts are stirring up Iraqis hatred of the United States and its allies and that the Japanese government should request an immediate halt to rampant U.S. military operations.
Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, however, only reiterated the same argument as the U.S. administration did, "There were no victims among Iraqi citizens and the mosque wasn't damaged."
Also, JCP Diet Policy Chair Kokuta Keiji conveyed the families' demand to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hosoda Hiroyuki on the same day and requested him to make efforts to set up a meeting between the prime minister and the families.
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Despite the newspaper holiday on April 12, the Akahata editorial office issued a regular edition of Akahata. With these Akahata copies, JCP branches throughout Japan simultaneously carried out a campaign from early in the morning on the day, calling for a life-first response and the removal of the SDF from Iraq. All the copies were quickly gone. Since the morning of April 9, the JCP has been conducting a signature-collecting campaign in more than 20,000 locations across the country. (end)
