Japan Press Weekly

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2016 January 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

First round of Diet debates highlights need to bring down Abe government

Akahata editorial (excerpt)

The 190th ordinary session of the Diet was convened on January 4 and is scheduled to continue for 150 days. Representatives of political parties addressed interpellations on government policies in plenary meetings in the both Houses of the Diet. This is the first Diet session held after the unconstitutional war legislation was forcibly enacted in September 2015 and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo reshuffled his Cabinet the following month. During the interpellations, PM Abe displayed an irresponsible attitude and assumed a so-what stance concerning criticism against the war laws.

PM Abe showed an insincere stance in answering the questions, especially about the security legislation. After the forcible enactment of the controversial legislation, the prime minister promised to keep providing to the pubic further explanations about the legislation. However, he neglected to carry out his promise, refusing to hold an extraordinary session of the Diet in defiance of the opposition parties’ joint request to convene Diet meetings based on the constitution.

In the current Diet session, Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers Kokuta Keiji and Inoue Satoshi and representatives of opposition parties, grilled Prime Minister Abe about the war legislation during their question times. In response, Abe insisted that the legislation is for not war but for security. He simply repeated that he has no intention to repeal the war legislation and the Cabinet decision to legalize Japan’s exercise of the collective self-defense right.

It is significant that while turning its back on his promise to provid adequate explanations to the general public, the Abe government is pushing forward with preparations for the full implementation of the war laws, such as making agreements with the U.S. concerning an Alliance Coordination Mechanism and a Bilateral Planning Mechanism as well as drafting the largest-ever defense budget for Japan in the post-war era.

In addition to the unconstitutional war legislation, PM Abe is trampling on public demands by carrying out adverse policies: the plan to construct a new U.S. base in Okinawa, the consumption tax hike, the restart of idled nuclear power plants, and the promotion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact. In order to bring back the principles of the Constitution and democracy to Japan, the need is to abolish the war legislation and block the Abe government’s runaway policies.