Japan Press Weekly

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2017 April 12 - 18 [POLITICS]

JCP Miyamoto urges Abe to work to prevent US preemptive strike on N. Korea

Japanese Communist Party parliamentarian Miyamoto Toru on April 17 pushed Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to discourage the U.S. Trump administration from carrying out a preemptive attack against North Korea.

At a Lower House Audit and Oversight of Administration Committee meeting, Miyamoto referred to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent statement that the U.S. missile strike on Syria was a “message” to North Korea. Miyamoto argued that the Japanese government should persuade the U.S. government to not employ the option of a preemptive attack on the North.

In response, PM Abe expressed no intent to oppose a U.S. preemptive strike on North Korea, stating that he appreciates the Trump administration for dealing with the issue based on the threat that “all options are on the table”.

Miyamoto cited the fact that when the Clinton administration considered conducting an attack on North Korea in 1994, then South Korean President Kim Young-sam strongly objected, claiming that “an enormous number of lives would be lost”. The JCP lawmaker warned that if the United States initiates a first strike, there will be no way of salvaging the situation.

Miyamoto stressed that the urgent need is for the international community to unite to impose strict economic sanctions on North Korea and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula through diplomatic negotiations. “What Japan should do now is to take the initiative to work for a diplomatic solution,” he said.

Past related article:
> JCP Koike: Tillerson’s reference to US Syria strike as a message to North Korea is dangerous [April 11, 2017]