Japan Press Weekly

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2007 November 7 - 13 [SDF]

Ichida protests against forcible passage of new special measures bill through Lower House committee

Immediately after the passage of the new special measures bill through the House of Representatives Special Committee on November 12, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi at a press conference said, “I lodge a strong protest against the forcible passage of the bill in defiance of opposition parties’ disagreement over taking the vote.”

Ichida pointed out that in the Lower House deliberations four problems concerning the bill have come to light: (i) the bill will allow Japan to assist in the U.S. retaliatory war; (ii) it will run counter to efforts to eradicate terrorism; (iii) Japan’s defense organizations responsible for conducting the mission to support the retaliatory war are deeply tainted with scandals; and (iv) even interrupting the committee’s question time, Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo and Democratic Party President Ozawa Ichiro held talks behind closed doors in which they basically agreed to the enactment of a permanent law to send the SDF abroad in violation of the Constitution.

Ichida expressed his determination to block the bill in the House of Councilors, saying, “The JCP will present irrefutable arguments and squarely confront these problems.” - Akahata, November 13, 2007