January 26, 2024

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Inoue Satoshi, at a meeting held on January 25 with an international NGO network in the Diet building, said that Japan should adhere to dialogue-oriented diplomacy based on the pacifist Japanese Constitution to help resolve armed conflicts.

In the meeting with the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), about 50 peace activists and experts from 28 countries worldwide and several Dietmembers participated.

They discussed the importance of “preventing” armed conflicts because once an armed conflict begins, it is almost impossible to stop an escalation.

JCP Inoue made reference to the ASEAN which focuses on dialogue as a means to settle disputes as well as to civil society which plays a key part in bringing the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) into action. He said, “What is expected of Japan is to promote these efforts in accordance with its pacifist Constitution.”

Andre Kamenshiko from Ukraine pointed out that only Japan among G7 countries has not supplied weapons to Ukraine. He suggested that Japan call for a humanitarian ceasefire so that the Russian government may lose the ethical high ground by pointing to the fact that Western governments continue to supply arms to Ukraine.

Imai Takaki, representative director of the Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), noted that the Japanese government newly created the Official Security Assistance (OSA) framework to enable Japan to provide arms and weapons systems to “friendly nations”. Imai warned that Japan could increase regional tensions instead of easing them. He said that Japan can contribute to preventing conflicts by abandoning its attempt to turn Japan into a “country capable of fighting wars” as promoted by the Kishida government.