October 14, 2016
“The situation of South Sudan is more dangerous than Nagatacho, of course.”
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said this at a Lower House Budget committee session on October 12. Nagatacho is the area in Tokyo where the Diet and Prime Minister’s Office buildings are located.
In the meeting, Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Takahashi Chizuko referred to the worsening situation in South Sudan. She pushed PM Abe to give up a plan to assign new missions to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces units deployed in South Sudan with the use of the unconstitutional security legislation, and withdraw them from the country.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) recently released a statement which expresses concern over the fact that a number of people were killed amid the frequent gun battles between government troops and antigovernment forces. The statement calls on both sides to cease hostile actions immediately.
In reply to Takahashi, PM Abe also said, “The degree of risk associated with SDF activities does not increase in proportion to the number of their missions.”
The JCP parliamentarian quoted a column in the 2016 Defense White Paper as stating that the new assignments given to the SDF may involve new risks. Takahashi said to Abe, “Don’t you even acknowledge this possibility?” The prime minister did not answer her question, using excuses and evasions.
Takahashi stressed, “It is outrageous to force SDF members to take on dangerous missions without providing an adequate explanation to the general public. The government should immediately pull all SDF units out of South Sudan.”
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The Abe administration on October 12 decided to suspend a judgment on whether to assign new tasks to the SDF units in South Sudan after November. The government originally planned to make the judgment by the end of October.
Past related article:
> Gov’t should withdraw SDF from South Sudan: JCP Kasai [October 4, 2016]
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said this at a Lower House Budget committee session on October 12. Nagatacho is the area in Tokyo where the Diet and Prime Minister’s Office buildings are located.
In the meeting, Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Takahashi Chizuko referred to the worsening situation in South Sudan. She pushed PM Abe to give up a plan to assign new missions to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces units deployed in South Sudan with the use of the unconstitutional security legislation, and withdraw them from the country.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) recently released a statement which expresses concern over the fact that a number of people were killed amid the frequent gun battles between government troops and antigovernment forces. The statement calls on both sides to cease hostile actions immediately.
In reply to Takahashi, PM Abe also said, “The degree of risk associated with SDF activities does not increase in proportion to the number of their missions.”
The JCP parliamentarian quoted a column in the 2016 Defense White Paper as stating that the new assignments given to the SDF may involve new risks. Takahashi said to Abe, “Don’t you even acknowledge this possibility?” The prime minister did not answer her question, using excuses and evasions.
Takahashi stressed, “It is outrageous to force SDF members to take on dangerous missions without providing an adequate explanation to the general public. The government should immediately pull all SDF units out of South Sudan.”
*****
The Abe administration on October 12 decided to suspend a judgment on whether to assign new tasks to the SDF units in South Sudan after November. The government originally planned to make the judgment by the end of October.
Past related article:
> Gov’t should withdraw SDF from South Sudan: JCP Kasai [October 4, 2016]
