Week of 'actions against attack on Iraq and wartime bills' start

At the call of the recent 2002 Japan Peace Conference, a week of "actions against attack on Iraq and contingency bills" started on December 8, the day the Pacific War broke out 61 years ago.

Handbills were distributed, and parades, as well as street actions were carried out at many places in Japan.

In the central part of Tokyo, about 40 peace activists from 20 organizations called on passers-by to think about peace and take actions against the possible U.S. attack on Iraq and against Japan's deployment of an Aegis destroyer to the Indian Ocean.

A trumpet and a guitar were displayed on a caravan car which attracted public attention. Postcards carrying messages of protest against U.S. President George W. Bush and Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro were distributed. Koizumi Chikashi, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors, also called for peace.

In Fukuoka Prefecture in southern Japan, about 2,000 citizens took part in a rally held at the call of trade unions related to land, sea, and air transportation, local self-governments, and mass communication.

They unanimously shouted that attacking Iraq and sending Japan's Aegis ship must be foiled. A JCP member, representatives from Fukuoka's Social Democratic Party, and a lawyers' association made speeches as guests. (end)