 JCP Shii urges government to not accept relocation of U.S. Army's 1st Corps to Zama Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on April 13 criticized the government for having practically accepted a plan to redeploy the U.S. Army's First Corps HQ to U.S. Army Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture. Referring to reports that the acceptance was on condition that the 1st Corps' area of responsibility will be limited to the Far East, Shii said, "The Japanese and U.S. governments are lying." Shii pointed out that the ongoing U.S. military transformation aims for (1) a global application of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty alliance; (2) operational integration of U.S. and Japanese forces; and (3) the strengthening of operational capabilities of U.S. forces headquarters in Japan. The thing is that they are perpetuating and consolidating U.S. military bases in Japan, he added. Shii said that the "Far East" limitation is a lie, pointing out that the U.S. forces have used their bases in Japan as a launching pad for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq." "The shifting of the U.S. Army's 1st Corps to Japan will ensure that all U.S. forces in Japan can take action globally from Japan," Shii pointed out. Shii stated that recently, more than half of the residents of Shimojijima Island in Okinawa succeeded in having the local assembly decision to invite the Self-Defense Forces to be stationed there retracted. Adding, "This indicates that people in Okinawa and Kanagawa are aware of the false arguments of the U.S. and Japanese governments that "burdens from U.S. bases will be eased" or that "the new command's area of responsibility will be limited," Shii called for increasing the struggles to get U.S. bases withdrawn from Japan. (Akahata April 14, 2005) |