January 22, 2017

U.S. Republican Donald Trump on January 20 assumed office as the 45th president of the U.S. His inauguration provoked a lot of anti-Trump rallies and demonstrations concurrently across the U.S., reflecting the concern of American citizens about the widening social divisions, the future of American politics, and their future livelihoods.

Regarding the start of the new U.S. administration, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on January 21 issued the following statement:

U.S. President Donald Trump in his inaugural address said, “From this moment on, it is going to be America First,” declaring that he will stand firm in this policy “on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs”.

The leader of the world’s biggest superpower, the U.S., proclaims “America First” on all matters. This may contradict the principle of the UN Charter stating, “The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members” and may impose the U.S. government’s position on the rest of the world. I cannot help but have a deep concern in regard to the possible reinforcement of hegemonic policies in an even more arrogant manner.

In regard to Japan-U.S. relations, President Trump is likely to ask Japan to bear more military and financial burdens. In economic relations as well, President Trump already declared his intention to “withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)” and is highly likely to prioritize profits of only the U.S. multinational corporations and financial institutions and press Japan to further concede on various issues through bilateral talks between Japan and the U.S.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, even before Mr. Trump became U.S. president, went to the United States and vowed to bolster the “Japan-U.S. alliance”. On Trump’s inauguration, Abe immediately sent his congratulatory message pledging to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. Alliance.

If the Japanese government continues to adhere to the rigid position as it has held so far that regards the “Japan-U.S. alliance as absolute”, Japan will no longer be able to deal with the U.S. administration led by President Trump whose slogan is “America First”.

I must emphasize that for Japan to drastically review its extraordinarily submissive diplomatic stance toward the U.S. and to switch to Japan-U.S. relations of equality and friendship is a challenge more pressing than ever before.