March 22, 2013

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on March 21 said at a press conference that the Iraq War, marking the 10th anniversary of its start, was an “unjust war of aggression.”

Shii pointed out that Iraq’s supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction was used as the pretext for attacking the country, but no such weapons have been found. He also stressed that former U.S. President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had both taken the initiative to invade Iraq, finally admitted that initiating the war was “wrong.”

“Japan is the only nation that has failed to reflect on its past behavior. The Japanese administration also supported the invasion of Iraq by insisting that Iraq had WMDs. It should acknowledge the war as unjustifiable and illegal, and be held responsible for having supported the aggression,” he said.

The chair added, “The war was a major tragedy. But it is extremely important that many people rose up in the world in support of peace based on the Charter of the United Nations.”