Japan Press Weekly

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2014 July 16 - 22 TOP3 [JCP]

Shii calls for public to bring down the Abe gov’t at 92nd anniversary of JCP

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on July 15 delivered a speech at the 92nd anniversary meeting of the foundation of the JCP and called on the audience to create a public movement to bring down Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

In the speech, Shii stated that the Abe government is the worst one among successive governments led by the Liberal Democratic Party after WWII and criticized Abe’s policies as dangerous to the country.

Regarding the Abe Cabinet’s decision to allow the country to use the collective self-defense right, the JCP chair stressed that the decision is the first step toward turning Japan into a war-fighting country. This act will claim the lives of young people, undermine Japan’s international trust nurtured by Article 9 of the Constitution, and infringe on human rights and democracy in Japanese society, he said.

Shii pointed out that the prime minister cites the need to maintain the existence of the country in order to justify the collective self-defense right. Imperial Japan used the same reasons to wage aggressive wars abroad. Shii stated that Abe’s argument is totally unacceptable.

Stating that Japan is at a historical turning point between war and peace, the JCP chair argued that public opinion and action will determine the direction. Shii said, “Let us work together to block Abe’s ambition to revive militarism.”