JCP Chair Shii: 'creation of a new order' should be based on U.N. Charter

Japan Press Weekly

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JCP Chair Shii: 'creation of a new order' should be based on U.N. Charter

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo used his question time in the House of Representatives on January 30 to emphasize that what Prime Minister Aso Taro termed as Japan's "contributions to the creation of a new order" in the world should be based on the United Nations Charter.

In his policy speech on January 28, Prime Minister Aso Taro said, "We must also actively take part in the creation of a new order to bring about peace and stability in the international community."

Shii raised two points that Japan should take into account in pursuing the creation of a "new order".

One is that Japan should call for the creation of a new international order for peace based on the U.N. Charter, and the other is that Japan should break away from military alliances in order to become a key player in a community of peace.

Pointing out that Japan consistently supported the Iraq War that was started and continued by the U.S. in disregard of the United Nations Charter, Shii stated that the Liberal Democratic and Komei party government policy must be severely condemned.

Referring to the book "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity: Japan's Expanding Diplomatic Horizons" (2006), in which Aso reveals that he said to then Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro, "The United Nations and the United States are divided (over Iraq). Japan should side with the United States," Shii said to Aso, "By 'a new order' do you mean that Japan should support the U.S. position in the event of any difference arising between the United States and the United Nations?"

Aso said that the Japan-U.S. alliance should be the cornerstone of Japan's foreign policy and that his support for the Iraq War remained relevant.

On the issue of sending Self-Defense Force ships to waters off Somalia in addition to the Indian Ocean, Shii said, "Will you continue to strengthen the functions of U.S. bases in Japan by regarding the alliance with the U.S. as absolute, and even attempt to change the (war-renouncing) Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution at the beck and call of the United States? Will Japan continue to be bound by the outdated system of subservience to the United States?"

Aso said, "Sending the SDF to Somalia is a matter of urgency."

"The creation of a new international order of peace based on the U.N. Charter requires Japan to break with the military alliance so that a new Japan-U.S. relation on an equal footing can be established," Shii stressed.

p align="right">- Akahata, January 31, 2009