Japan Press Weekly

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2014 October 8 - 14 [POLITICS]

JCP condemns blackmailers of university regarding ‘comfort women’ Asahi reports

The Japanese Communist Party in Hokkaido on October 7 issued a statement condemning blackmailers of Hokusei Gakuen University in connection with the Asahi Shimbun’s retraction of its “comfort women” reports, and determined to work hard to protect freedom and democracy.

Since the Asahi Shimbun in August withdrew its reports regarding the Yoshida testimony that women had been forcibly taken away to comfort stations, a Hokusei Gakuen University temporary lecturer who was an Asahi journalist involved in the reports and his employer have become targets for blackmail.

The JCP Hokkaido Prefectural Committee in the statement protested that such moves will undermine university autonomy and academic freedom. It expressed its determination to play a role in broader collaboration established beyond differences in political positions to fight against the moves.

The JCP statement also points out that in the background, there are forces that justify Japan’s past war of aggression as a “just war” and try to kill the comfort women issue. Criticizing the Abe government for turning a blind eye on those forces, the statement states that the JCP will continue to work to block the falsification of past facts and protect freedom and democracy.