Japan Press Weekly

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2020 November 18 - 24 [PEACE]

Calling for an end to military alliances and foreign military bases, 2020 Peace Conference held online

Calling for an end to the Japan-U.S. military alliance and the removal of U.S. bases from Japan, the 2020 Japan Peace Conference was held on November 21 online due to the pandemic.

On behalf of the organizers, National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) President Obata Masako delivered the opening speech. After this, the secretary general of the Japan Peace Committee, Chisaka Jun, delivered the organizers’ report.

Presenting his report, Chisaka criticized the Suga government for pushing forward with the Henoko base project in Okinawa and for intending to take concrete steps toward the possession of the enemy base attack capability. He said, “In order to block these moves, we need to strengthen our efforts to put an end to the Japan-U.S. military alliance.” He referred to the failure of neoliberal policies and the entry into force of the UN nuclear weapons ban treaty in January 2021. He said, “Let’s work together to realize a peaceful and just world with no nuclear weapons and military alliances.”

Peace activists from the U.S., the Philippines, and South Korea appeared on the screen and spoke about their activities. Corazon Fabros, secretary general of the Nuclear-Free Philippines Coalition, said that despite the success in removing U.S. bases from the Philippines 28 years ago, the nation is now being pressed by the U.S. to accept its demand for the stationing of U.S. military forces for the purpose of containing China. From South Korea, Lee Jun Kyu, senior researcher at the Institute for Unification and Peace Policy, Hanshin University, stressed the importance of Japanese and South Korean citizens’ grassroots efforts to oppose military ties with the U.S. and the U.S. forces’ realignment schemes.

Three guest speakers, including Sophia University Professor and initiator of the Civil Alliance Nakano Koichi, delivered speeches in solidarity.

The virtual conference received messages from Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira, parliamentary group “Okinawa Whirlwind” member of the House of Councilors Iha Yoichi, Reiwa Shinsengumi party leader Yamamoto Taro, Okianwa Governor Tamaki Denny, and Kagoshima’s Nishinoomote City Mayor Yasaka Shunsuke, who opposes the central government move to relocate field carrier landing practice (FCLP) exercises by the U.S. carrier-borne aircraft to the city-administered Mageshima Island.

Past related article:
> Nishinoomote City mayor opposes planned relocation of FCLP to nearby island [November 9 & 10, 2019]