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JCP chair makes 4-point proposal on Japan's Asia diplomacy

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo has stressed the urgent need to make a drastic change in Japan's diplomacy so that Japan can contribute to peace in East Asia.

Shii made a four-point proposal at a press conference on December 13 in Kyoto.

At a time when there are growing moves in East Asia toward establishing a community of countries for peace promoted by the ASEAN Plus Three and at the East Asia summits, the Japanese government, far from taking a positive role, keeps itself isolated, Shii said.

As the draft resolution of the JCP 24th Congress points out, if Japan is to contribute to the founding of an East Asian community, Japan must change its foreign policy on four basic issues.

First, Japan must stop justifying Japan's past war of aggression and colonial rule.

Shii pointed out that Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro's visits to Yasukuni Shrine and other conduct justifying the war of aggression are the cause of the serious diplomatic debacle.

"The task now is for Prime Minister Koizumi and Foreign Minister Aso Taro to end their defiant attitude in responding to the serious isolation of Japanese leaders in the APEC meeting and their failure to hold a summit meeting with China and South Korea during the recent East Asian Summit," Shii said.

Second, Japan must end its subservience to the U.S., and instead, pursue a strategy for establishing peaceful relations with other Asian nations.

Citing arguments of some ASEAN members that "Asian matters should be dealt with by Asian countries," Shii stated that this represents their strong disagreements with the Japanese government's calling for U.S. participation in the East Asian Summit from the position of giving the Japan-U.S. military alliance priority.

Shii said, "The Japanese government is called upon to stop forcing other Asian governments to accept its 'pro-Japan-U.S. alliance' policy."

Third, Japan needs to replace its military-first policy with diplomacy that will help solve disputes peacefully.

Shii said, "If Japan abandons the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution and shifts to a nation capable of sending forces abroad, it will seriously threaten the peace in East Asia."

"Although there is no basic change in U.S. unilateralism as demonstrated by its invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, the U.S. is making diplomatic efforts in East Asia by seeking peaceful co-existence with China coupled with its ASEAN policy," Shii pointed out.

However, the Japanese government is just following the U.S. policy relying on military strength while neglecting other aspects, and dragging itself into a corner without establishing its own foreign strategy.

Fourth, "Japan must adhere to observing an order of peace in line with the United Nations Charter as the only way in which Japan can be harmonized with the peoples of Asia without condoning hegemony by any country," Shii stressed.

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), with 53 percent of the world's population, represents the growing movement toward peace in Asia, centering around ASEAN, toward enabling a thorough "peaceful resolution of disputes based on the UN Charter. Shii said that Japan must incorporate this as a cornerstone to its diplomacy.

Stressing that these four points can be shared with other East Asia countries irrespective of differences of opinion, Shii concluded that Japan must not go against this direction, but join efforts to establish a peaceful the East Asian community.
-Akahata, December 14, 2005