Japan Press Weekly

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2013 October 23 - 29 [POLITICS]

JCP Akamine: Japanese NSC is revival of Imperial General HQ

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Akamine Seiken on October 25 took the floor to oppose a bill on a Japanese-version of the National Security Council which the House of Representatives began discussing at its plenary session.

Akemine defined the Japanese NSC as being modeled after that of the United States and of Britain which facilitates military interventions in other countries. He criticized the bill for aiming to revive the pre-war structure which gave the prime minister’s office control of information regarding foreign and military affairs.

Prime Minister Abe claims that Japan will share confidential information with other nations based on the NSC law, if enacted. The JCP legislator counter-argued by citing the 2003 Iraq War when the U.S. and Britain plunged into the war on the grounds that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction which was later found to be false. The then Liberal Democratic Party government blindly accepted that unverified assertion and sent the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to Iraq despite mounting protests from the international community against the attack on Iraq.

He also took the recent Syria crisis as another example, saying that the U.S. information regarding Syria’s supposed use of chemical weapons turned out to be unreliable. The JCP Dietman, representing Okinawa Prefecture, stated that the government should never again take Japan off course by relying wholly on other countries’ classified information.

PM Abe mentioned some cases in order to stress the need of the NSC bill, such as possibilities in which Japan intercepts ballistic missiles launched toward the United States or Japan provides support for the United States when it is militarily attacked. However, Akamine stated that it all boils down to the government desire to have the right to collective self-defense.

Now that the world is drastically changing, Akamine went on to say, the U.S. administration itself was forced to withdraw its troops from Iraq in 2010 and is reducing the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

In response to the prime minister insisting on the NSC because of worsening situations surrounding Japan, Akemine advised that parties concerned should strictly refrain from taking provocative actions that would increase tensions. The most important thing is, Akamine pointed out, to remain committed to diplomatic negotiations to peacefully settle any conflict. He stated that the need is for Japan to follow the ongoing world’s efforts to seek a solution through discussions as seen in talks between the Unites States and China or between China and ASEAN members.