Japan Press Weekly

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2016 November 16 - 22 [POLITICS]

JCP Koike criticizes Cabinet decision assigning risky new duties to SDF units in South Sudan

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on November 15 issued a comment on the Abe Cabinet’s decision to assign risky new duties to Self-Defense Force units participating in the UN Peace Keeping Operation in South Sudan, demanding the withdrawal of the decision as it tramples on Japan’s pacifist Constitution.

The Cabinet decision enables the SDF troops in South Sudan to deploy rapidly to remote locations and offer armed assistance to foreign troops or civilians, which is referred to as “kaketsuke keigo”, Koike pointed out. He went on to say that such a duty tramples on the Constitution which bans Japan’s use of arms abroad and may lead to SDF members’ killing or being killed in overseas missions for the first time ever.

Koike pointed out that South Sudan is in a state of civil war, adding that in the capital city of Juba, hundreds of people were killed during a large scale battle in July and armed conflicts still continue. He stressed that although the Abe government is trying to downplay the current situation by calling the armed conflicts “collisions”, such a deceptive use of rethoric cannot fool the international community.

The Cabinet decision argues that the five preconditions for SDF’s participation in UN PKOs are still being met in South Sudan. However, Koike explained that the UN special report on that nation’s situation (published on November 1) states that the August 2015 cease-fire agreement between the pro-president and pro-vice president forces has already collapsed. This contradicts the Cabinet argument, Koike stressed. The UN report also notes the involvement of South Sudanese government forces in military attacks on UN facilities. Koike said that given this situation, if the SDF troops carry out the new duties and use weapons as prescribed, they will quite likely become involved in battles with the South Sudanese government forces, stressing that the SDF should not be exposed to such a conflict situation.

Koike said that in the first place, the PKO missions today are aimed mainly at protecting civilians with the use of armed force, which means that it is totally inappropriate for Japan with its Article 9 of the Constitution to take part in PKOs. Koike again urged the Abe government to withdraw SDF units from South Sudan and instead strengthen diplomatic efforts based on the spirit of the Constitution and drastically increase humanitarian and non-military support.

Past related articles:
> South Sudan is more dangerous than central Tokyo: PM Abe [October 14, 2016]
> Gov’t should withdraw SDF from South Sudan: JCP Kasai [October 4, 2016]