Japan Press Weekly

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2009 April 8 - 14 [SDF]

Lawyers’ group rallies against SDF dispatch to Somalia

The Japan Lawyers Association for Freedom (JLAF) on April 9 held a rally in the Diet to start a campaign to help the public understand the dangerous issues raised by the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to waters off Somalia and the anti-piracy bill to send SDF units abroad. About 50 people, including lawyers, took part in the rally and made representations to Dietmembers.

The JLAF on the same day issued a statement in protest against the SDF operation near Somalia and the anti-piracy bill. Lawyer Tanaka Takashi, referring to Article 6 of the bill which allows the Marine SDF to fire at pirates that approach its ships, pointed out, “If enacted, it will enable the SDF to carry out preemptive attacks.”

Japanese Communist and Social Democratic Party members spoke in solidarity with the JLAF.

JCP representative Inoue Satoshi said, “We should not allow this bill to change our proud history in which Japan has not killed or been killed abroad for over 60 years,” and promised to urge the Diet to carefully discuss the issue.

Japan Lawyers Association for Freedom (JLAF) is an organization founded in 1921 for the purpose of protecting fundamental human rights, strengthening democracy, and contributing to a peaceful, independent, and democratic Japan. It requires its members to fight against any kinds of adverse laws as well as band together with a wide range of people and struggle to defend their rights regardless of differences in ideology or political beliefs. In addition to various court struggles, it has expressed opposition to war, SDF overseas dispatch, the contingency laws, the state secrets protection law, the wiretapping law, the single-seat constituency election system, and other laws in violation of basic human rights and principles of democracy. It has made special efforts to oppose the move to revise the Peace Constitution in order to turn Japan into a war-fighting nation. Currently about 1,800 lawyers are members in the association.