Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 29 - May 12 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Yamashita: JCP will increase its efforts to scrap war legislation-related bills

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties on May 11 reached an agreement on bills related to war legislation. The Abe Cabinet plans to submit the bills to the Diet on May 15 after a Cabinet approval on the day before.

The agreed upon measures, which the ruling coalition calls “peace and security” legislation, are composed of a bill revising 10 existing laws, such as the SDF Law and the PKO Law, and a bill to create a new permanent law on dispatching the Self-Defense Forces abroad.

With the revision of the 10 laws, the SDF will conduct missions associated with Japan’s exercise of the collective self-defense right as one of its primary duties. Furthermore, the revision will expand the SDF’s use of arms, enable the SDF to support foreign militaries, and relax other restrictions regarding SDF overseas missions.

Meanwhile, the draft permanent law, the so-called “international peace support law”, will give the government a blank check to deploy the SDF abroad. The new law will also allow the SDF to perform activities in battle fields and provide ammunition to foreign troops, both of which are currently prohibited.

The ruling LDP is reportedly intending to enact the bills this summer as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo promised in his address to the joint session of the U.S. Congress. To this end, the Abe administration is thinking about extending the current session of the Diet, which is due to end on June 24.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki on the same day said to reporters that the JCP will work hard to scrap the bills by conducting Diet discussions and increasing public opposition.

Citing that opposition and concerns are mounting among even supporters of the ruling parties, the JCP secretariat chief said that the party plans to launch nationwide street actions on May 14.

On this day, the JCP also held talks with lawyers’ groups and agreed to work together with them to block the enactment of the legislation.


Past related article:
> New Japan-US defense cooperation guidelines reflect Abe’s hawkish ambitions [April 28, 2015]
> Majority in media polls say ‘No’ to Abe’s war legislation [March 31, 2015]