Japan must not support illegitimate U.S. war -- Akahata editorial, December 18

The Japanese and U.S. ministers for foreign and security affairs held a security consultative committee meeting in Washington on December 16. They confirmed the need to demand that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons development program and agreed to coordinate their actions more closely to deal with the Iraq question.

At a press conference after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that there are suspicious points in the declaration Iraq has submitted to the United Nations about its weapons of mass destruction.

Powell said, "If Iraq does not cooperate and, once again, violates a UN resolution, then I believe the international community has an obligation to act and do whatever is necessary to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, and that includes the use of military force."

Japan's Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Yoriko stated that Japan as a responsible member of the international community will consider taking appropriate actions.

Can United States act on behalf of the United Nations?

The Powell statement can't be underestimated, particularly at a time when the United States is repeatedly declaring that it won't hesitate to attack Iraq and is building up its forces in preparation for war.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 excludes automaticity in the use of force, stating that the UNSC will decide on measures to be taken in the case of Iraq's possible violation of the resolution.

Based on the resolution, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection team (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are conducting inspections of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Experts from these agencies are examining Iraq's declaration.

The evaluation of the declaration will be reported to the UNSC by UNMOVIC or the IAEA.

The United States has no right to impose its own evaluation of Iraq's declaration or instruct the international community to take military action.

Does Powell think that the United States can act for the United Nations on the question of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?

At the joint press conference with Japan's foreign minister and defense chief, Powell emphasized that Japan is "a good friend and close ally in the international coalition against terrorism." This is taken to mean that the U.S. secretary of state is pressing Japan to assist in a possible U.S. war on Iraq as a duty under the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro in parliament stated that the Iraq question should be settled by means other than war. However, what he did was to send one of Japan's Aegis destroyers to the Indian Ocean as part of Japan's military buildup in support of a U.S. war on Iraq.

It is reported that the Japanese government, in particular the Defense Agency, is considering deploying minesweepers to the Persian Gulf and to enact a new special law in order to enable Japan to support a U.S. attack on Iraq.

At a time when the international community is making every effort to bring a peaceful settlement to the Iraq issue, Japan's Koizumi Cabinet held a "security consultative meeting" with the United States which is increasing its preparations for a war against Iraq, thus getting further involved in military support for a possible U.S. war. This is the point we must not overlook.

War is not the answer

In its retaliatory war against Afghanistan, the United States used atrocious weapons killing many innocent people. If a war on Iraq breaks out, even greater atrocities are inevitable.

In the 1991 Gulf War, Arab countries supported military actions by a multinational force. These and many other countries throughout the world are now opposed to a war on Iraq.

Japan must act in accordance with its constitutional principles of peace, that Japan will never use force as means of settling international disputes.

The Japanese Communist Party demands that Prime Minister Koizumi refuse to cooperate in an reckless illegitimate U.S. war and be true to his own statement that "the issue be settled without resorting to military means." (end)