January 21, 2015

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on January 20 at the JCP 3rd Central Committee Plenum issued a five-point proposal on the basic stance the Japanese government should take in order to promote harmony and friendship with Asian countries this year, the 70th year since the end of World War II.

Shii stressed the need to abandon the idea of justifying the past war of aggression as that would lead to Japan’s isolation from the international community.

The JCP proposal calls on the Japanese government to:

1. abide by the core contents of the Murayama Statement and the Kono Statement, act in accordance with the principles shown in the statements, and refute arguments by opponents of the statements;

2. implement measures to restore the dignity of victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery system, including official apologies and compensation;

3. make a rule banning lawmakers—in particular, cabinet ministers—from making official Yasukuni Shrine visits which are tantamount to justifying the past war of aggression;

4. take a firm stance and legislate against racist hate speech demonstrations; and

5. work to make history textbooks better reflect the government’s stance on the aggressive war as presented in the Murayama and Kono statements.