  Mr. Koizumi, that's not the way to make an honored international contribution -- Akahata editorial, September 23Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro at the U.N. General Assembly stated, "Japan's role has thus become increasingly vital to the maintenance of international peace and security, which is precisely the mandate of the Security Council." He insists that he was right in supporting the Iraq war. He added, "We believe that the role that Japan has played provides a solid basis for its assumption of permanent membership on the Security Council," citing the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq. Is the Koizumi diplomacy playing a role commensurate with efforts to defend and develop U.N. Charter-based rules for international peace and security? Supporting illegal war Swallowing everything the Bush administration has given for its action, the Koizumi Cabinet has been supporting the Iraq war. Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, used as the pretext for starting the Iraq war, have not been found yet, and it is increasingly clear that it was a war of aggression in violation of the U.N. Charter and Security Council resolutions. Even so, Prime Minister Koizumi has not changed his position, making it impossible for Japan to help strengthen U.N. efforts for international peace and security. The U.N. Security Council's position on the Iraq question was stated in Resolution 1441 adopted unanimously in November 2002. The resolution gave Iraq the "final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and "to set up an enhanced inspection regime with the aim of bringing to full and verified completion the disarmament process." The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said that the resolution did not give the U.S. the green light to conduct the war on Iraq. U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq continued up to March 2003 when the U.S.-British forces started the war. There was the distinct possibility of completing the verification of Iraq's elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Although most UNSC member states called for the inspections to be continued, the U.S. and Britain launched the war against Iraq, insisting that the UNSC failed to fulfill its responsibility. It was the lawless war without any Security Council resolutions approving the war. It is obvious that the United States trampled on the role and resolution of the UNSC. Thus, it is natural for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to state, "War against Iraq was illegal under the U.N. Charter." Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro has given the Japan-U.S. military alliance priority, kept supporting the illegal Iraq War, and deployed Japan's Self-Defense Forces in Iraq in violation of the Constitution. No matter how loudly he speaks at the UNGA that Japan "has pursued an international coordination led by the United Nations", Japan cannot get either support or sympathy from the international community unless it complies with the U.N. Charter and international order for peace in its actual action. It is no coincidence that the prime minister did not refer to the U.N. Charter in his UNGA speech. Let the Constitution guide change The U.N. Charter prohibits the use of force except for self-defense and seeks to establish a world free of wars through tenacious efforts to peacefully solve international disputes. This is the only way for every country to achieve economic and social development. If the UNSC needs to establish a U.N. force to take "military measures" as a last resort against a "breach of peace" or an "invasion" that the UNSC could not prevent, permanent members of the UNSC have to bear the responsibility to strategically direct the U.N. military operation. In light of Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan cannot do so. What Japan should do is to take active part in international efforts centering on an independent peace-oriented diplomacy based on the U.N. Charter and the Japanese Constitution. Prime Minister Koizumi said that he seeks for Japan to hold an "honored place in an international community" through "global contributions for peace." To achieve this goal, it is necessary to drastically rethink the present Japanese diplomacy. (end) |