March 27, 2018
Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Inoue Satoshi on March 26 at a House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting brought up a Japanese diplomat’s remark supporting the construction a U.S. nuclear storage site in Okinawa, and demanded that the government disclose relevant materials.
The remark in question was made in February 2009 by the then political counselor of the Japanese Embassy in the U.S., Akiba Takeo, at a hearing session of the U.S. Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. In the session, Akiba also expressed his opposition to a U.S. plan to reduce its nuclear capabilities. Akahata reported this fact based on a memorandum concerning the hearing session provided by Gregory Kulacki of the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists.
Inoue criticized Akiba’s remark as a serious violation of Japan’s Three Non-nuclear Principles of not allowing the possession, production, or entry of nuclear weapons into the territory.
Inoue also referred to a meeting that was held by Kulacki and Okinawa-elected opposition party lawmakers in Tokyo last week. Inoue pointed out that in the meeting Kulacki said that all documents regarding the hearing are archived in the U.S. Institute of Peace and that the organization will provide the records to anyone with the consent of the Japanese government. The JCP lawmaker stated that the Foreign Ministry should obtain the documents from the USIP through information disclosure requests and make them public.
Foreign Minister Kono Taro admitted that the Japan side has records of the hearing but refused to publish those records, saying that they are not intended to be publicly available.
Past related articles:
> Japan’s high-ranking diplomat agreed to US proposal on nuclear facility construction in Okinawa [March 5, 2018]
> Japan expected Obama administration to maintain and enhance US nuclear capability [March 4, 2018]
The remark in question was made in February 2009 by the then political counselor of the Japanese Embassy in the U.S., Akiba Takeo, at a hearing session of the U.S. Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. In the session, Akiba also expressed his opposition to a U.S. plan to reduce its nuclear capabilities. Akahata reported this fact based on a memorandum concerning the hearing session provided by Gregory Kulacki of the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists.
Inoue criticized Akiba’s remark as a serious violation of Japan’s Three Non-nuclear Principles of not allowing the possession, production, or entry of nuclear weapons into the territory.
Inoue also referred to a meeting that was held by Kulacki and Okinawa-elected opposition party lawmakers in Tokyo last week. Inoue pointed out that in the meeting Kulacki said that all documents regarding the hearing are archived in the U.S. Institute of Peace and that the organization will provide the records to anyone with the consent of the Japanese government. The JCP lawmaker stated that the Foreign Ministry should obtain the documents from the USIP through information disclosure requests and make them public.
Foreign Minister Kono Taro admitted that the Japan side has records of the hearing but refused to publish those records, saying that they are not intended to be publicly available.
Past related articles:
> Japan’s high-ranking diplomat agreed to US proposal on nuclear facility construction in Okinawa [March 5, 2018]
> Japan expected Obama administration to maintain and enhance US nuclear capability [March 4, 2018]
