With contingency bills Koizumi further supports U.S. preemptive strike -- Akahata editorial, April 2 (excerpts)

Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro has directed the Liberal Democratic Party to get the contingency bills enacted in the current Diet session.

The Koizumi Cabinet not only expressed support for the U.S.-British war on Iraq, but even tries to take advantage of the war to get the wartime legislation enacted, an LDP long-awaited desire.

Once enacted, the contingency bills will empower the government, in the event that Japan is under an armed attack, to order the Self-Defense Forces to take part in U.S.-led wars abroad to use force, and mobilize the public with threats of criminal penalties.

Explaining why Japan must support the U.S. attack on Iraq, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "It is obligatory for Japan as a U.S. ally to make utmost efforts to support our partner," a clear statement that it always gives top priority to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

Koizumi argued that Japan needs to be a U.S. trustworthy ally, and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Yoriko in the Diet answered that Japan must maintain U.S. confidence in Japan.

Advocating the need to wage preemptive attacks, the U.S. Bush Administration in the January 2002 Nuclear Posture Review instructed the military to draft a plan to use nuclear weapons in preemptive attacks.

U.S. wars in which the SDF will take part under the contingency laws, if enacted, are nothing less than participation in preemptive strikes in complete disregard of the U.N. Charter.

In this sense, for Japan to cooperate with the U.S. in wars has nothing to do with protecting its people.

The need now for national defense is to stop unjustifiable U.S. preemptive attacks abroad, and take steps to ensure the peace and security of Asia and the rest of the world.

The Japanese people successfully foiled attempts to pass the contingency bills in two consecutive Diet sessions last year.

The Constitution of Japan declares a "non-war-fighting nation." How can we Japanese allow a change to a "war-fighting nation" under a wartime regime?

Let's organize everybody's hope for peace, and drive the Koizumi Cabinet into a third failure so that the war bills will be completely scrapped. (end)