Japan Press Weekly

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2017 September 6 - 12 TOP3 [POLITICS]

JCP in Diet debate: Gov’t should urge US to hold talks with N. Korea to avert military clash

Japanese Communist Party parliamentarians on September 5 at off-session Diet committee meetings demanded that the Japanese government push the U.S. to hold direct talks with North Korea in order to avert a military clash.

Both houses of the Diet held meetings in response to North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.

JCP lawmaker Kasai Akira at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting condemned the latest nuclear test by North Korea. He said that North Korea again violated past UN Security Council resolutions and went counter to the international community’s efforts calling for a diplomatic solution of the issue and the establishment of a world free of nuclear weapons.

Kasai asked Foreign Minister Kono Taro if the government acknowledges the potential risk of the ongoing crisis between the U.S. and North Korea which could result in a military conflict. Kono said, “It is North Korea that is unilaterally increasing tension.” Kono took a stance supporting U.S. nuclear deterrence and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis’ remark that the U.S. has “many military options”.

The JCP lawmaker criticized the Japanese government for not promoting U.S.-DPRK dialogue. He went on to say that if the tension between Washington and Pyongyang further escalates, it will increase the possibility of a miscalculation that could lead to military conflict. Kasai said that a war on the Korean Peninsula must be avoided as it would cause devastating damage to Japan as well. He mentioned that a statement issued on August 29 by the UN Security Council president calls for actions to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula and for efforts to seek “a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue”. Kasai said that the Japanese government should work to persuade the U.S. government into holding direct talks with the North Korean government.

On the same day, JCP lawmaker Inoue Satoshi at a House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting said that the Japanese government should work to realize U.S.-North Korea talks in order to prevent a military conflict triggered by an accident or misunderstanding.

Inoue stressed that pursuing dialogue to break through the current crisis is different from making a concession to North Korea or approving the country’s nuclear program. He said that the Japanese government should encourage the U.S. to decide to hold talks with North Korea.

Past related articles:
> JCP condemns North Korea’s nuclear test and again calls for direct talks to defuse current crisis [ September 4, 2017]
> N. Korea’s nuclear test angers Hiroshima and Nagasaki Hibakusha [ September 4, 2017]