Fuwa speaks at 35th anniversary of nuclear-free Kobe Port Formula

Japan Press Weekly

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Fuwa speaks at 35th anniversary of nuclear-free Kobe Port Formula

More than 800 Kobe citizens and peace activists on March 20 and 21 held a two-day meeting to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Non-Nuclear Kobe Port Formula.

On the first day of the meeting, Japanese Communist Party Social Sciences Institute Director Fuwa Tetsuzo in his lecture said, “Only when the Japanese government abolishes the secret pact on nuclear arms entry and fully implements the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, can Japan send the A-bombed nation’s message of peace to the world.”

The Kobe Formula was initiated when the Kobe City Assembly on March 18 1975 adopted a resolution to require foreign vessels to verify that they are not carrying nuclear weapons.

Regarding the issue that the government refused to acknowledge that the 1960 “Record of Discussion” between Japanese and U.S. government officials disclosed on March 9 was a secret agreement, Fuwa said, “No matter how many times the current Democratic Party of Japan-led government investigates into the secret nuclear agreements, as long as it keeps avoiding touching on the fact that the U.S. forces use Japan as their base for nuclear wars, that attitude is the same as that of the former government.”

Referring to the fact that successive U.S. governments intended to use U.S. bases in Japan under their plan for nuclear wars, Fuwa stated, “As far as the secret agreement on nuclear weapons exists, the U.S. government will be able to exercise the right to bring in nuclear weapons to Japan whenever the U.S military needs to do so.”

In addition, Fuwa said, “Now, when the existence of the secret nuclear agreement is acknowledged, what the Japanese government as the A-bombed country should do is to abolish the secret agreement. If the Japanese government scraps the agreement, nuclear capable U.S. military ships and aircraft would have to decide whether to offer prior consultation or to certify them as non-nuclear. The Kobe Port Formula offers a future course for a nuclear-free Japan.”

On the second day of the meeting, peace activists from throughout the country exchanged stories of their struggles opposing U.S. warships’ entry into Japanese civil ports.

- Akahata, March 21-22, 2010