Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2017 November 1 - 7 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Shii criticizes Abe & Trump for sticking to hard-line stance toward North Korea

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on November 6 at a press conference commented on the summit meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and U.S. President Donald Trump held earlier on the same day in Tokyo.

Shii in his comment criticized the two leaders for denying the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the North Korea crisis and clinging to a position that all military options are on the table.

The JCP chair referred to a statement jointly issued on November 4 by 16 U.S. Congress members who are military veterans.

The statement points out that the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledges that there is no way to destroy North Korea’s nuclear arsenal other than to carry out a ground invasion. Given that such a military operation would cost hundreds of thousands of lives, the statement goes on to say, the U.S. has no realistic military option. It states, “[E]very diplomatic and economic option must be exhausted before military options are considered”.

Shii said that as the joint statement asserts, all possible diplomatic and economic options should be taken. He stressed that Washington and Pyongyang should take a step toward arranging direct talks and that the Japanese government should urge President Trump to refrain from even considering a resort to a preemptive military attack.

Shii criticized PM Abe for giving a positive response to President Trump’s proposal that Japan buy more weapons from the United States. The JCP chair noted that Japan’s promotion of its military buildup would escalate the vicious cycle of the potential for military confrontation in northeast Asia.

Shii mentioned that PM Abe at a joint press conference after the summit meeting gave no response to a reporter’s question regarding a possible accidental outbreak of a military clash between North Korea and the U.S. and that President Trump ignored a reporter asking about the possibility that a U.S. military attack on North Korea will even threaten the lives of Japanese abductees in the country. Shii said that the two leaders are apparently unable to figure out ways to deal with such serious issues.