February 5, 2016
Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on February 4 grilled Prime Minister Abe Shinzo regarding the issue that the national security legislation enables the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to join in the U.S.-led coalition mounting airstrikes on IS militants in the Middle East.
At the beginning of his question at a Lower House Budget Committee session, Shii said that the IS extremist group was born amid the chaos created by the wars the U.S. launched in Iraq and Afghanistan. Citing an estimate that between August 2014 and January 2016, around 2,500 civilians were killed in the allied forces’ bombardment in Syria and Iraq, Shii stressed, “Increasing military attacks on IS will only lead to a vicious cycle of war and terrorism.”
Shii pointed to the fact that the Abe government has said that it is “legally possible” for the SDF to provide military support to the U.S.-led forces but that the government has no intent to offer such support as a “policy judgment”.
The International Peace Support Law, a part of the security legislation, sets three requirements to allow the SDF to engage in logistic activities abroad: a UN resolution as a basis for such activities; united actions by the international community (including a “coalition of the willing”) to remove threats of terrorism; and necessity for Japan to be actively involved in military operations.
Noting that the ongoing operations against IS already fulfilled the first two requirements mentioned above, Shii pointed out that in the end, it only depends on the government’s judgment whether to engage the SDF in the operations. Shii asked Abe on what grounds he made the judgment of refraining from offering military assistance to the coalition forces. The prime minister avoided giving a clear answer to the question.
The JCP chair mentioned the fact that U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said at the Senate Armed Services Committee last December that Washington had requested about 40 countries for cooperation in its military attacks on IS extremists. Shii again questioned Abe whether his government had received such a request from Washington and how it will respond to similar demands in the future.
PM Abe did not answer the first question, just saying that he will turn down such a demand. He provided no reason why he will reject such a U.S. request.
Shii went on to state that the Australian government publicly announced in January that it received a U.S. request for military assistance but decided to refuse the demand. He emphasized that it is obvious that the Abe administration, which has completely lost its independency, will end up accepting whatever Washington demands.
At the beginning of his question at a Lower House Budget Committee session, Shii said that the IS extremist group was born amid the chaos created by the wars the U.S. launched in Iraq and Afghanistan. Citing an estimate that between August 2014 and January 2016, around 2,500 civilians were killed in the allied forces’ bombardment in Syria and Iraq, Shii stressed, “Increasing military attacks on IS will only lead to a vicious cycle of war and terrorism.”
Shii pointed to the fact that the Abe government has said that it is “legally possible” for the SDF to provide military support to the U.S.-led forces but that the government has no intent to offer such support as a “policy judgment”.
The International Peace Support Law, a part of the security legislation, sets three requirements to allow the SDF to engage in logistic activities abroad: a UN resolution as a basis for such activities; united actions by the international community (including a “coalition of the willing”) to remove threats of terrorism; and necessity for Japan to be actively involved in military operations.
Noting that the ongoing operations against IS already fulfilled the first two requirements mentioned above, Shii pointed out that in the end, it only depends on the government’s judgment whether to engage the SDF in the operations. Shii asked Abe on what grounds he made the judgment of refraining from offering military assistance to the coalition forces. The prime minister avoided giving a clear answer to the question.
The JCP chair mentioned the fact that U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said at the Senate Armed Services Committee last December that Washington had requested about 40 countries for cooperation in its military attacks on IS extremists. Shii again questioned Abe whether his government had received such a request from Washington and how it will respond to similar demands in the future.
PM Abe did not answer the first question, just saying that he will turn down such a demand. He provided no reason why he will reject such a U.S. request.
Shii went on to state that the Australian government publicly announced in January that it received a U.S. request for military assistance but decided to refuse the demand. He emphasized that it is obvious that the Abe administration, which has completely lost its independency, will end up accepting whatever Washington demands.
