Japan Press Weekly

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2008 August 27 - September 2 [POLITICS]

JCP will call for change in government policies in its autumn struggle

With the Extraordinary Session of the Diet set to open on September 12, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo explained how the party will deal with issues in its autumn offensive in an interview broadcast on August 29 (three days before Prime Minister Fukuda’s resignation announcement) via the Asahi Newstar communication satellite television program. The interviewer was Honda Masaru, Asahi Shimbun editorial board member.

Agriculture Minister Ota must come clean on allegation of inappropriate use of political funds

Honda Masaru (Asahi Shimbun): As you prepare for the Extraordinary Session of the Diet due to open on September 12, a scandal involving the agriculture minister’s office expenses is rocking the political world.

Shii Kazuo (JCP Chair): It has been known that he has not paid rent, that there was actually no office in the house, and that there was no full-time staff. So it is suspected that the “office” (of Ota’s political organization or fund management organization) was actually non-existent. Mr. Ota must be held accountable for the allegation of creating a fictitious office. If he cannot do so, he is not qualified to be a cabinet minister.

Honda: He has just been appointed to be a minister in a cabinet reshuffle. Don’t you think that the responsibility of the Fukuda government should be called into question?

Shii: I do. It is particularly serious that the same kind of issue (inappropriate uses of office expenses) still persists. A cabinet reshuffle should at least involve a minimum check. In this sense, the prime minister’s responsibility for the appointment should be questioned.

With the Fukuda Cabinet unable to move in any direction, the need now is to change policies

Honda: How do you evaluate the Fukuda Cabinet reshuffled in August?

Shii: My impression is that the Fukuda Cabinet has come to a point where it is no longer able to move either forward or backward.

In economic policy, since the Koizumi Cabinet, government policy has been one of adversely affecting ordinary people through adverse ‘reforms’ justified by the slogan “No economic growth without structural reforms,” including abolition of rules regarding employment practices, cutbacks in social services, and destruction of agriculture. Only large exporters benefited from the policy. As a result, the poverty rate has increased and economic inequalities have quickly widened. The government can neither call for further structural reforms nor admit its error. It is unable to make a far-reaching review of the present policy.

In foreign policy, the Fukuda Cabinet has been subservient to the United States in continuing with the policy that led Japan to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and deploy the Self-Defense Forces abroad. Even though this way of responding to international affairs is untenable on the ground, leading to Japan’s isolation in the international community, the Fukuda Cabinet is unable to reject this policy.

Honda: It seems that the Fukuda Cabinet cannot send a clear message as to what it is trying to do.

Shii: Right. It appears to be standing paralyzed due to an inability to make a decision to go on or retreat. Given the impasse, a major overhaul of government policies is necessary. Given the failure of the “structural reform” policy, it is necessary for the nation’s economic policy to shift emphasis to one of helping improve the household economy instead of benefiting large corporations. Given the fact that Japan’s submission to the United States in following the military-first policy is failing, we must achieve a major shift to an independent diplomacy for peace. Japanese politics is at a historical crossroads.

Diet must listen to people’s cries of suffering and fulfill its political responsibility to resolve the problems

Honda: What do you think will be the main issues in the upcoming Extraordinary Session of the Diet?

Shii: The foremost task is for the Diet to help solve problems that are the cause of people’s cries of suffering that are too serious to ignore.

The present crisis of the Japanese economy and of the people’s living standards can be seen against a background of a “dual crisis”.

One is the crisis caused by the “structural reform” policy. It has extended generous support to some large exporters while pushing down domestic demand and accelerating the household budget crunch. This is how the Japanese economy has gone wrong as it has come to depend heavily on foreign demand. Once the global economy went wrong, leading to a fall in foreign demand, the Japanese economy ran out of steam due to the vulnerability of Japan’s economic structure. The need now is to adopt an economic policy that shifts emphasis to helping increase domestic demand in all areas, including employment, social services, agriculture, fisheries, small- and medium-sized businesses, and progressive taxation structure, instead of relying on foreign demand and on helping the household economy to prosper instead of helping large corporations.

The other crisis is related to the Japanese economy revealing its vulnerability in its very foundation. A rampage of speculative funds causing worldwide inflation is exacerbating this vulnerability. Speculative money in huge amounts flows into oil, grains and other futures markets, pushing up prices. Financial speculation has a negative impact on ordinary people’s living conditions as well as on agriculture, fisheries, and small- and medium-sized businesses. Along with measures to help reduce the impact of soaring fuel prices, international control of financial speculation is urgently called for.

So, the task of the upcoming Extraordinary Session of the Diet should be to take measures to protect the public from this “double crisis”.

Dissolution of the House of Representatives could be earlier than expected, and we will call for change in policies

Honda: When will the House of Representatives be dissolved for a general election?

Shii: The position of the Liberal Democratic Party seems to have been that the dissolution of the House of Representatives should be delayed as much as possible. However, it is in great difficulty as to whether it should stay the course or retreat. This in turn has caused various rifts and antagonisms within the ruling coalition. At this point, we think that the dissolution of the House of Representatives for a general election could take place either late this year or early next year. At any rate, the JCP will do everything possible to go on the offensive regardless of when this takes place.

Honda: What will be the main issues in the general election?

Shii: We will remind voters that the JCP will put an end to policies that primarily benefit the financial circles and the United States, and establish policies that put people first. There is a view that the focal issue in the coming general election will be: who will take power, the Liberal Democratic Party or the Democratic Party? We are saying that’s not what the next general election is about, that the real issue is making a major change in government policies, and that only the JCP is willing to do this.

In Japanese politics today, all political parties except the JCP are sharing the same current in their policy platforms in relation to the financial circles and the United States. That is why it was possible that last year Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo and Democratic Party President Ozawa Ichiro held a meeting behind closed doors and temporarily agreed to form a “grand coalition.” The same tendency is seen in their stance regarding such issues as constitutional revision and increasing the consumption tax rate. The truth is that changing the political party in power without changing policies will ensure that Japanese politics will not provide a bright future for all. We want voters to choose a party that takes a stance to dramatically change policies.

NGOs contend that the military solution is not the answer to end the conflict in Afghanistan

Honda: An NGO aid worker from Peshawar-kai was killed in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. How do you react to this incident?

Shii: I am strongly indignant at the murder of Ito Kazuya. How painful it is that a young man died while in Afghanistan to assist in providing improvements in farming and people’s well being in response to the needs of local people!

That tragedy occurred with a backdrop of a worsening security situation in Afghanistan. The war in retaliation for acts of terrorism has given rise to hatred and intensified the vicious circle of violence.

On August 1, the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief, an organization

representing one hundred NGO members from the national and international humanitarian, reconstruction and development NGO community in Afghanistan, issued a “Statement on the Protection of Civilians in Afghanistan.” It says that up to 1,000 civilians are among the 2,500 people who have reportedly lost their lives. It states, “The increased number of air strikes by international military forces, which are up by approximately 40 percent on last year, has also contributed to the rising civilian death toll. Searches conducted by Afghan and international forces have on some occasions involved excessive use of force, extra-judicial killings, destruction of property and/or mistreatment of suspects.” These things have nurtured a climate that increases animosity toward foreigners in general. The statement says, “So far this year 19 NGO staff have been killed, which already exceeds the total number of NGO workers killed last year.”

Military operations by U.S. and other foreign forces are a stumbling block to efforts by NGOs to help improve Afghan people’s well-being.

The statement concludes by stressing that “the conflict will not be brought to an end through military means, but that a range of measures are required to achieve a sustainable peace, including strong and effective support for rural development and the delivery of essential services, major governance reforms, enhanced aid effectiveness, and peace-building initiatives at local, national and regional levels.”

This is an appeal from NGOs that are working hard in Afghanistan. We should take the call seriously.

War as a means of responding to terrorism is failing. It is important to seek to solve the problems by combining a peace process aimed at a political and diplomatic resolution and assistance in the effort to eradicate poverty and hunger.

I want to stress that the Japanese government persistence in continuing refueling operations for U.S. forces to assist in their use of force not only goes against the Japanese Constitution but also completely ignores the needs of Afghan people.