Shii speaks on JCP exchanges with South Korea and peace in Northeast Asia; interview with South Korean media

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Shii speaks on JCP exchanges with South Korea and peace in Northeast Asia; interview with South Korean media

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo held a press conference on September 9 with South Korean media and spoke about exchanges he had in his first visit to South Korea on September 5-10.

He stated, "I think that my visit at this time paved the way for broader exchanges between the JCP and South Korea. I want to express my deep gratitude to politicians and other people in various circles for giving us such a warm welcome."

As regards the 4th International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) held on September 7-10, Shii stated, "The conference was attended by most political parties in Asia, ruling and opposition alike. I think it is successful as an important meeting to discuss issues of peace and social progress. As a participant, I want to do my utmost to help make a success of the conference."

Questions and answers at the press conference were as follows:

Make every effort to resolve North Korea issue by peaceful and diplomatic means

Q: There is a rumor about North Korea's possible nuclear tests in the future. What impact do such tests have on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia? Do you think that this will provoke Japan into arming itself with nuclear weapons?

Shii: The JCP strongly protested against North Korea's recent missile test firing as a violation of international agreements and international law. The United Nations Security Council adopted a unanimous resolution regarding this incident, and the JCP supported it. We demand that North Korea accept this resolution and return to the Six-Party Talks without delay.

We absolutely oppose North Korea's nuclear weapons development. While the JCP is critical of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime for giving specific nuclear weapons possessing countries a privileged position, we cannot be tolerant of the emergence of new nuclear powers. As a political party of the only atomic bombed country, the JCP has been calling on all governments of the world to swiftly decide to abolish nuclear weapons from the world.

Needless to say, we resolutely oppose Japan's nuclear armament. The worst scenario is a vicious cycle of military escalation provoking larger military responses. In dealing with the specific regional issues in this part of the world, we must stick with the principle of solving them through peaceful and diplomatic means.

I have a word to say to the North Korean government concerning its "military first policy" that regards reinforcing its military power as the key to ensuring its security. The greatest weakness of North Korea's security is not a lack of military strength. Its largest problem is the absence of trust in its relations with its neighbors. I believe it important to urge North Korea to return to the international community as a responsible member that observes international rules.

Article 9 of the Constitution--Japan's international pledges must be maintained by rallying the majority public opinion

Q: We know that the JCP is known for its efforts to defend Article 9 of the Constitution. In contrast, all candidates for the next Liberal Democratic Party president are calling for constitutional revision. How is the JCP dealing with this situation?

Shii: The JCP is making every effort to rally a majority of the people in the movement to foil constitutional adverse revision. Japan's Constitution cannot be amended only by parliament alone. This requires a national referendum. If the majority of the people say "No" in the referendum, the revision will fail.

At the call of Oe Kenzaburo, Nobel prize winner, and other public figures, a nationwide movement was launched by the Article 9 Association. The JCP is an important part of this movement. More than 5,000 Article 9 associations have been established across the country. The key to the success of this movement is our effort to rally the majority of the public in defense of Article 9.

I think that Article 9 is not an asset of the Japanese people alone. Japan in the past committed the serious mistakes of waging the war of aggression and imposing colonial rule. Based on a reflection of this error and pledging that Japan will no longer fight wars, the war-renouncing Article 9 was included in the Constitution as an international pledge.

If Japan abolishes Article 9, it will lose the trust of Asia and the rest of the world. I want to promise that the JCP, as a party that has strenuously opposed war, will make every effort to block the attempt at constitutional revision.

On opening in Seoul of bureau of Akahata

Q: Your visit to South Korea at this time, reportedly, has another aim of opening the Seoul bureau of Akahata. Did you meet anyone to discuss the matter? What was the South Korean reaction?

Shii: We do want to open an Akahata office here eventually. However, our visit this time is not to negotiate it. As this is a matter to be dealt with at a working level, we will not have a negotiation on this matter during our stay here. I'm convinced that it may be possible as time passes.

The ROK government has allowed us to send Akahata correspondents from time to time without setting up a permanent office, so we sent reporters when the need arises. From Tokyo, Seoul is nearer than Okinawa.

On relations between the JCP and the Workers' Party of Korea

Q: Can you tell us about the present state of relations between the JCP and the Workers' Party of Korea? My understanding is that they used to be good but are not now. Why is this?

Shii: We established relations with the WPK in the latter half of the 1950s. However, from the late 1960s, problems arose.

It was in 1967 and 1968 that we found something problematic with the WPK. "Armed guerrilla" incidents, including an attack on the Blue House, took place in South Korea in that period. Deeply concerned, the JCP sent a delegation to North Korea. Then JCP Secretary General Miyamoto Kenji held talks with Kim Il Sung, North Korea's president at the time.

In the talks, the JCP delegation told the WPK that the so-called "southward advance" is absolutely unacceptable. We strongly warned Kim that if North Korea put such a thing into practice, no Japanese democratic forces will support it. Kim Il Sung's answer was that "such a step is not included in my view for the time being." But at that time, we were concerned with something extraordinary taking place there.

In the 1970s, North Korea tried to force the Japanese movement to support a campaign to praise Kim Il Sung. We made it clear that the JCP is totally opposed to any imposition of a cult of personality by any foreign individual.

Relations between the two parties broke down in the first half of 1980s, following the bomb attack incident in Rangoon and the shooting of a Japanese fishing boat. The JCP criticized North Korea for these incidents, saying such conduct has nothing in common with socialism. North Korea fiercely attacked us, saying, "Such criticism amounts to giving the enemy a helping hand." With these events, our bilateral relations were cut and have been severed to this day.

As the North Korea issue has an important bearing on peace and stability in East Asia, the JCP has resolutely maintained that the issue must be solved by diplomatic and peaceful means. We have been consistent in saying, "No war or conflict must be allowed to break out on the Korean Peninsula."

Based on this position, and deeply concerned by the fact that Japan has no negotiation channel with North Korea, Fuwa Tetsuzo, then JCP chair, in the Diet twice proposed in 1999 that negotiation channels be opened unconditionally between Japan and North Korea.

These JCP proposals later helped produce the 2002 Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration. As an opposition party leader, I constantly confront Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro over many issues. However, when Koizumi signed the Pyongyang Declaration, I welcomed it and stated that the JCP will fully cooperate in its implementation.

Later, Japan-North Korea relations experienced zigzags and some adverse currents. Notwithstanding this, the Pyongyang Declaration remains important as a step toward a solution of issues such as the abduction of Japanese nationals, nuclear development and missile test firing, and the settlement of historical issues. Both the Japanese and North Korean governments must maintain this agreement, and take every effort to resolve the issues.

The JCP is a party that criticized North Korea most for its illegal acts. It has strenuously called for a solution through diplomatic and peaceful means. I hope that you'll understand this position of ours.

Concerning future JCP exchanges in South Korea

Q: It would be correct to say that your party has successfully "opened a door to South Korea in a historical event." You've mentioned that the JCP intends to "deepen exchanges" with South Korea. What do you have in mind in concrete terms?

Shii: We hope to increase exchanges between the JCP and people in various strata of your country.

First, we want to increase exchanges with those in political circles. In our meeting with Uri Party Chair Kim Geun Tae, we agreed to hold exchanges between local assembly members of both parties.

Now governmental exchanges are also expected.

We had a discussion with students at Yonsei University. I want to increase exchanges with students in various ways because they will be the generation that will carry forward South Korean society.

I also had in-depth discussions with Professor Emeritus at Korea University Kang Man Gil, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts of Korea University Cho Kwang, and Yonsei University Professor Kim Seong Bo, who are prominent historians in Korea. This gave me great pleasure. Making efforts to share basic agreements on the past history between Japan and South Korea will be essential toward establishing a community of peace in this region. I hope that we will be able to hold various exchanges with people of various scientific fields in South Korea.

Finally, it is my hope to see cultural exchanges increase between our countries. As you know, there is a great "Korean boom" in Japan. As a big fan of the drama 'Dae Jang Geum' myself, I want to make utmost efforts to increase cultural exchanges between the two countries.

(In Korean) Thank you very much. I wish that further exchanges will be made between the JCP and your country.
- Akahata, September 12, 2006