Japan Press Weekly

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2017 September 20 - 26 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Deputy PM Aso: Japan may shoot refugees fleeing from possible contingency on Korean Peninsula

Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro on September 23 said that as an option for dealing with refugees from the Korean Peninsula in the event of a military conflict, it is likely that Japan may shoot them.

Aso made this remark in a speech gathering held in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture.

Aso noted that in a contingency if war erupts on the Korean Peninsula, refugees would flood to Japan. He went on to say, “How should we deal with those refugees? They may be armed. Can the police handle them? Or, will the Self-Defense Forces be dispatched to gun them down? We’d better think about this seriously.”

In August, Aso came under fire from inside and outside Japan for his remark regarding the Holocaust, implying that Hitler had the right motive in taking action. He has no qualification to be a cabinet minister.

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Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on September 24 in a street speech in Kitakyushu City (Fukuoka Prefecture) referred to Aso’s “Japan may shoot refugees” remark and said, “As the Deputy Prime Minister, it is totally irresponsible for Aso to talk about ‘gunning them down’.”

Past related article:
> Deputy PM Aso defends motive behind Holocaust [ August 30, 2017]