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2024 April 17 - 23 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Akamine criticizes Japan-US agreement as placing SDF under US military command

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Akamine Seiken on April 18 said that it is unacceptable that the Japanese and U.S. leaders in their joint statement, which was issued last week, agreed to place Japan’s Self-Defense Forces under the command of the U.S. military.

At a meeting of the House of Representatives Commission on the Constitution held on the day, Akamine pointed out that the two leaders in their joint statement expressed their intent to unprecedentedly strengthen cooperation between the SDF and the U.S. military in regard to their command and control frameworks for “seamless integration of operations and capabilities”.

Akamine said that with this move, the SDF will be integrated into and placed under the U.S. military’s command even more than before, which is tantamount to a declaration that the SDF will wait on the U.S. forces hand and foot and fight U.S. wars abroad.

Furthermore, Akamine pointed out that the Kishida government, under its policy to equip Japan with an enemy base attack capability, intends to strengthen and consolidate its military tie-up with the U.S. forces in order to use that capability effectively.

Akamine said that the strengthening of collaboration between the SDF and the U.S. forces will open the door for Japan to strike enemy bases in coordination with the U.S. and thus constitutes a violation of the Constitution.

Past related article:
> JCP Chair criticizes Japan-U.S. summit meeting for seeking more aggressive bilateral military alliance [April 12, 2024]