July 22 & 23, 2015
The Japanese Communist Party Shiga Prefectural Committee and the party’s local assemblypersons made representations to the prefectural governor on July 22 over an incident in which a bullet fired by the Ground Self-Defense Force during its training exercises hit a private house.
On July 16, a man living in Shiga’s Takashima City found a bullet in a room of his house which came through the roof. On the same day, the GSDF carried out a live fire drill using 12.7-millimeter heavy machine guns at the Aibano maneuvering ground located about 500 meters from the man’s home. The GSDF later admitted that the bullet was from one of its guns.
Noting that this is a serious accident endangering the lives of local residents, JCP representatives urged the governor to demand that the GSDF halt its live shell exercises immediately.
Pointing to the fact that the GSDF troops dispatched to Iraq were armed with the same type of machine guns, they stressed that it is unforgivable for the SDF to conduct drills in anticipation of the use of armed force abroad.
Meanwhile, members of a local peace organization visited an SDF camp in Takashima City on July 21 and called on authorities to set up an independent committee to investigate the cause of the accident.
Referring to the SDF plan to hold joint military drills with the U.S. Marine Corps at the Aibano training field in September, the protesters criticized the plan as being in line with the controversial war legislation which is still under Diet deliberation.
An SDF official said in response that he will convey their representation to superiors.
Past related article:
> Public junior high school invites students for SDF’s live-fire drill [June 25 & 26, 2015]
On July 16, a man living in Shiga’s Takashima City found a bullet in a room of his house which came through the roof. On the same day, the GSDF carried out a live fire drill using 12.7-millimeter heavy machine guns at the Aibano maneuvering ground located about 500 meters from the man’s home. The GSDF later admitted that the bullet was from one of its guns.
Noting that this is a serious accident endangering the lives of local residents, JCP representatives urged the governor to demand that the GSDF halt its live shell exercises immediately.
Pointing to the fact that the GSDF troops dispatched to Iraq were armed with the same type of machine guns, they stressed that it is unforgivable for the SDF to conduct drills in anticipation of the use of armed force abroad.
Meanwhile, members of a local peace organization visited an SDF camp in Takashima City on July 21 and called on authorities to set up an independent committee to investigate the cause of the accident.
Referring to the SDF plan to hold joint military drills with the U.S. Marine Corps at the Aibano training field in September, the protesters criticized the plan as being in line with the controversial war legislation which is still under Diet deliberation.
An SDF official said in response that he will convey their representation to superiors.
Past related article:
> Public junior high school invites students for SDF’s live-fire drill [June 25 & 26, 2015]
