March 18, 2016
“It is generally believed that foreigners need a bathtub and toilet for each household member.”
In a Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on March 16, State Minister of Defense Wakamiya Kenji said this in response to Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kasai Akira who criticized the government for using a large amount of taxpayer money to build luxurious houses for U.S. servicepersons and their families in Japan.
Prior to this, in a Lower House Finance Committee session on February 25, JCP parliamentarian Miyamoto Toru asked why each of the homes provided for U.S. soldiers in Japan has three bathrooms. Wakamiya replied, “That is because Americans are bigger than Japanese in general.”
These astounding remarks made by the state minister represent the Abe administration’s stance putting a higher value on the U.S. forces than on Japan’s general public.
In an Upper House Budget Committee session on March 16, JCP legislator Kami Tomoko pointed to the fact that about 140,000 victims of the 2011 massive disaster in northeastern Japan are still forced to live in cramped temporary housing units. Quoting sufferers as complaining that their temporary shelters are deteriorating badly five years after the disaster, Kami pushed the government to spend more taxpayer money for these afflicted people, not for the U.S. military.
Past related article:
> Residents protest against building more houses for US forces [March 15, 2012]
In a Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on March 16, State Minister of Defense Wakamiya Kenji said this in response to Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kasai Akira who criticized the government for using a large amount of taxpayer money to build luxurious houses for U.S. servicepersons and their families in Japan.
Prior to this, in a Lower House Finance Committee session on February 25, JCP parliamentarian Miyamoto Toru asked why each of the homes provided for U.S. soldiers in Japan has three bathrooms. Wakamiya replied, “That is because Americans are bigger than Japanese in general.”
These astounding remarks made by the state minister represent the Abe administration’s stance putting a higher value on the U.S. forces than on Japan’s general public.
In an Upper House Budget Committee session on March 16, JCP legislator Kami Tomoko pointed to the fact that about 140,000 victims of the 2011 massive disaster in northeastern Japan are still forced to live in cramped temporary housing units. Quoting sufferers as complaining that their temporary shelters are deteriorating badly five years after the disaster, Kami pushed the government to spend more taxpayer money for these afflicted people, not for the U.S. military.
Past related article:
> Residents protest against building more houses for US forces [March 15, 2012]
