December 29, 2022 & January 5, 2023

Representatives of the Japanese Communist Party Hiroshima Prefectural Committee on January 4 held talks with France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party Lower House member Aurelien Saintoul at the Hiroshima City Assembly building.

The JCP representatives included the prefectural committee chair Murakami Shoji and JCP Hiroshima City Assemblypersons Nakahara Hiromi and Nakamori Tatsuichi.

Saintoul explained the reason for his visit to Hiroshima, and said that as a member of the French National Assembly Committee on national defense, he thought he must visit the city. He also explained that his party demands that France take part in the TPNW meeting as an observer, and reported on his party’s policies and activities.

The JCP group talked about what happened after the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, and said that JCP organizations in Hiroshima Prefecture tirelessly work to increase public awareness of the diabolical reality of the atomic bombing. Stressing that humans and nuclear weapons cannot continue to coexist, the JCP group said to the French leftist lawmaker, “Let us work together to use the G7 summit scheduled to be held in Hiroshima as an opportunity to have G7 leaders learn first hand about the devastating consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and not insist on another military buildup.”

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JCP Vice Chair Ogata Yasuo on December 27 met with France Unbowed party member of the National Assembly Aurelien Saintoul at the JCP head office in Tokyo.

Ogata said that he met with France Unbowed party leader Melenchon in Paris in the previous month and agreed to establish a relationship between the two parties, which is significant.

Saintoul in response said that he is glad that his party decided to build up a cooperative relationship with the JCP.

Prior to the talks with Ogata, JCP member of the House of Councilors Yamazoe Taku met with Saintoul in the Diet building.

Asked by the French lawmaker, Yamazoe explained the JCP views on various topics including the legalization of Japan’s use of the collective self-defense right, the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa, and Japan’s subservience to the U.S. with the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

Past related article:
> JCP delegation visits left-wing and progressive parties in Europe to strengthen cooperation [November 9-13, 2022]