Japan Press Weekly

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2007 July 4 - 10 [SDF]

Municipal assemblies call for a halt to SDF surveillance of the public

Municipal assemblies have adopted resolutions calling for an immediate halt to the Self-Defense Forces’ surveillance of the public which the Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo revealed in June.

The Sagamihara City Assembly (Kanagawa Pref.), a city hosting two U.S. military bases, on June 29 adopted a resolution with favorable votes of all assembly members’ groups except for one independent.

The resolution stated that the Ground SDF information unit has placed under surveillance not only the movement against dispatching the SDF to Iraq but also the moves of local assemblies and the public in opposition to an increase in the consumption tax rate and in the people’s burden of medical expenses in violation of the principles of political neutrality and civilian control. It demands that the SDF thoroughly disclose information on past activities and refrain from further surveillance activities.

In the Koganei City Assembly in Tokyo, a resolution was adopted on June 28 by the majority votes of the Japanese Communist Party and four other assembly members’ groups. The conservatives, including the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komei Party, opposed the resolution. Pointing out that the SDF surveillance clearly constitutes a crime infringing on the right of privacy of the public, this resolution demands an immediate halt to the activities.

Similar resolutions were adopted by the Higashikurume City Assembly (Tokyo) on June 27 and the Uji City Assembly (Kyoto Pref.) on July 3.
- Akahata, June 30, July 4 & 6, 2007