Japan Press Weekly

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2012 November 21 - 27 [POLITICS]

Shii criticizes Ishihara’s remarks on nuclear weapons

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on November 20 criticized “Nippon Ishin no Kai” head Ishihara Shintaro for calling for a nuclear-armed Japan, saying that he is not qualified to rationally deal with foreign relations.

“Japan should take the lead in working for a world without nuclear weapons, and it is outrageous to even consider possessing nuclear weapons,” said Shii.

On the same day, former Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro spoke at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan and said, “Japan should at least conduct simulation tests of nuclear weapons. That alone could be considered deterrence.”

He went on to say, “In the world, voices of non-nuclear states are very weak in diplomacy. North Korea has a voice because it has nuclear weapons.”

On November 10, Hashimoto Toru, the other leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, said in Hiroshima City that Japan can accept entry of nuclear weapons onto its soil.

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Hiroshima
The Hiroshima Prefectural Council against A and H Bombs (Hiroshima Gensuikyo) on November 21 sent a letter of protest to the head of Nippon Ishin no Kai, Ishihara Shintaro, demanding that he retract the remark suggesting that Japan should possess nuclear weapons.

The letter states that the remark is unforgivable as it tramples on the efforts of not only atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha) but also many peace-loving people throughout the world working to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.

As a politician in the only A-bombed country, he should support the movement working for a total ban of nuclear weapons, the letter concludes.

Nagasaki
Yamada Hirotami of the Nagasaki Atomic bomb Survivors Council said in an Akahata telephone interview, “How dare he say such a thing as a person who is seeking to engage in national politics in the only country that has experienced nuclear attacks. I’m outraged because I know the reality of the atomic bomb sufferers.”

Related past articles
>Hashimoto states US nuclear weapons could enter Japan (November 11, 2012)