Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2016 January 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

JCP Inoue to PM: Gov’t plan to export weapons and NPPs should be scrapped

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Inoue Satoshi on January 7 in his interpellation at a House plenary session urged Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to overturn the government policy on Japan’s export of arms and nuclear power plants.

JCP Inoue took up PM Abe’s report on a series of his trips abroad in the autumn of 2015.

PM Abe in his report delivered on the first day of the current Diet session boasted that he made the trips for “world peace and prosperity”. Regarding this report, Inoue pointed out that what PM Abe calls “world peace” is actually “peace by military means” under the revised Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines and the war legislation. He called on Abe to cancel the government plan to export weapons and NPP-related technology to other countries.

Inoue moved on to the issue that PM Abe in November 2015 expressed his support for the U.S. military’s “freedom of navigation” operations in South China Sea.

The JCP lawmaker questioned the PM about the possible participation of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in U.S. military operations abroad. PM Abe stopped short of denying the possibility that he will send the SDF to join in U.S. military operations outside of Japan.

Inoue criticized the Abe government’s aggressive stance to make sales pitches for Japanese-made arms to foreign buyers by citing the recent government approach to Australia for joint submarine development. He also noted that the Japan Business Federation has been advocating the promotion of arms exports since the enactment of the war legislation. Inoue said, “Japan, which renounces war under Article 9, should have a national strategy based on peace diplomacy. To allow arms exports, which may contribute to international conflicts, violates Article 9.”

PM Abe only replied, “Overseas transfers of weapons will only be permitted if it serves Japan’s security interests and the promotion of peace and international cooperation.”

Inoue then touched on the controversial issue of the conclusion of the Japan-India nuclear cooperation agreement. He said, “Japan is still working on finding the cause of the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima. Moreover, it cannot even bring the aftermath of the disaster under control.” He criticized Japan’s export of nuclear technology for selling yet another nuclear myth to other countries, not “contributing to global prosperity”, and demanded that the Japan-India nuclear deal be rescinded.

Prime Minister Abe said in response, “We will share the lessons of Fukushima with the international community and pursue the world’s most rigorous safety standards, and we will never be lulled by any safety myth.” He, however, indicated that his government would continue to cling to the conventional structure in dealing with the existing nuclear power plants and related technology, which is completely contrary to the wishes of the victims of the Fukushima crisis.

Past related articles:
> Don’t export submarines to Australia: citizens’ network [December 19, 2015]
> Anti-nuke citizens protest against conclusion of Japan-India nuclear cooperation agreement [December 13, 2015]
> New Japan-US defense cooperation guidelines reflect Abe’s hawkish ambitions [April 28, 2015]