Continued SDF deployment contradicts efforts to save hostages in Iraq
Japanese Communist Party Dietmember Yoshioka Yoshinori on April 13 urged the government to review its policy of keeping Self-Defense Force troops in Iraq because it contradicts its commitment to do its utmost to rescue the three Japanese hostages held there.
Yoshioka was questioning the government at a House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting. Referring to the increasing number of civilians being taken hostage in Iraq, including the three Japanese, Yoshioka said, "This indicates that the stated aim of U.S. attacks on Iraq has not been accomplished. Japan's continuous cooperation with the U.S. forces will not solve the Iraq question. The government should analyze the current situation in Iraq and review its policy."
While the government has said it will be careful about making comments on this sensitive issue in the Diet, Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro promised U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney that Japan will not withdraw SDF troops from Iraq. Yoshioka criticized the government's contradictory attitude, pointing out that such a statement will further provoke the hostage-takers.
Foreign Vice Minister Abe Masatoshi in answer said, "It may be contradictory, but the government is making every effort."
On the same day, JCP representative Akamine Seiken used his speech at the House of Representatives Plenary Session to urge the government to "give its highest priority to saving the lives of the three Japanese hostages and do everything it can to rescue them." (end)
