JCP Chair Shii's New Year interview (Part I)

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JCP Chair Shii's New Year interview (Part I)

Settling Historical Issues Will Continue to Be Crucial

Okuhara: I would like to take up the "three aberrations and the world current" as a theme of our discussion today. At the JCP Congress held a year ago, we analyzed the following three aberrations of the Liberal Democratic Party government policies: Japan's failure to have remorse over its past war of aggression, its subservience to the United States, and the priority given to defending the interests of large corporations. We also made clear the Japanese Communist Party's position of opposing these policies. Let us first talk about the present state of Japan in a global context.

Shii: Look at the "three aberrations" from two points of view, "contradiction with citizens" and "contradiction with the world current" and you will see them from critical aspects and identify the current that has a future. Let me talk about these aberrations mainly in the context of the world situation.

U.S. Congress resolution on 'comfort women' issue - Japanese government must sincerely fulfill its international responsibility

Okuhara: Let's first talk about the Japanese government position of justifying Japan's past war of aggression.

Shii: I believe that among 192 U.N. member countries, Japan is the only country affected by powerful forces that justify the country's war of aggression during WW II.

Abe Shinzo became prime minister after Koizumi Jun'ichiro and brought about certain positive changes in diplomacy to the extent that he held summit talks with the Chinese and South Korean leaders. However, it only marked the beginning of efforts to resolve the pending issues.

The new U.S. Congress is expected to take up again a resolution calling on the Japanese government to accept its responsibility for abusing women in other Asian countries as military "comfort women" during Japan's war of aggression. The resolution was passed through the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs last September but was not enacted. It has been revealed that lobbying activities on behalf of the Japanese government prevented the House from putting it to a vote in the plenary session. This revelation is taken as a serious problem in the United States.

Okuhara: It was reported that the Japanese government has paid $60,000 a months to a Washington lobbying firm.

Shii: Prime Minister Abe has promised to honor the "Kono statement" admitting that the Japanese military was involved in and responsible for the establishment and management of the "comfort stations" and for transferring "comfort women." He should sincerely fulfill the promise that the government made internationally to teach the next generations about this terrible crime as part of history education.

Work to share basis of historical awareness is essential for future friendship

Shii: The other viewpoint is that the Japanese government should seriously implement the agreement reached at summit meetings with China and South Korea to share a common view of basic historical facts.

One thing that struck me during my visit to South Korea last September was that there is a huge gap between Japanese and South Korean peoples concerning the knowledge of basic historical facts. In my meeting with undergraduate and graduate students at Yonsei University, I found that they have a good knowledge of the Korean people's sufferings and struggles during the colonial period, including the March 1 Movement, an independence movement that arose on March 1, 1919 throughout Korea, as well as about Yoo Gwan Soon, a girl who led the movement and died in the repression at the age of 18.

Okuhara: The fact of Japan's colonization is not known very well in Japan.

Shii: No, it isn't. There is a major difference in political awareness. Although it is difficult for Japanese people to have the same view as other Asian people on all historical issues, if it is to build true friendship with them, I believe it necessary for Japan and other Asian countries to share a basic knowledge of historical facts at the government level as well in people-to-people relations. For that matter, it will be important to share the knowledge about forces that existed and worked for peace and conscience in each country. In this respect, I am convinced that the history of the JCP, whose members risked their lives to oppose the war of aggression and colonization, can be the bridge for friendship between Japan and other countries in Asia.

From Military Alliances to Communities of Peace

Okuhara: Let's talk about the second aberration, "subservience to the United States." Prime Minister Abe publicly states that he wants to have the Constitution revised during his term of office. The aim of the constitutional revision that he wants to achieve is to enable Japan to directly take part in U.S. wars in response to U.S. requests. This shows the extreme extent of Japan's subservience to the United States. It is extraordinary from an international viewpoint, isn't it?

Shii: It is, indeed. I would like to know if there are any other countries that are as enthusiastic as Japan about strengthening military alliances and increasing readiness to send troops abroad. The aim of the constitutional revision that Prime Minister Abe seeks to achieve is to turn Japan into a nation that will fight wars abroad together with the United States. However, this goes directly against the world trend for peace.

Okuhara: You think Japan doesn't fit in with the world trend at all.

Shii: Correct. There were three events that caught my attention last year.

U.S. hegemonic invasion of Iraq and its diplomacy toward North Korea

Shii: First, the present state affairs in the United States.

Last year, the failure of the Iraq War became clearer than ever. Although the United States started the Iraq War by declaring that it would last only two weeks, it has become longer in duration than the Pacific War (Dec. 1941 - Aug. 1945). The situation turned into a quagmire.

The United States made two major mistakes. To begin with, it was wrong to launch a war of aggression in disregard of the U.N. Charter. The other mistake was the subsequent U.S. occupation of Iraq. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussad said, "The gates of hell are open in Iraq." There are Shia and Sunni Muslims in Iraq. To suppress the Sunni resistance, the United States recruited Shia Muslims into the Iraqi army and police. Using the Shia-Sunni conflict as a leverage, the United States took the worst approach in establishing an occupation administration in Iraq. This, in fact, dragged the country into "a state of civil war."

Okuhara: Last autumn, President George W. Bush's ruling Republican Party suffered a severe defeat in the midterm election.

Shii: The U.S. public has abandoned Bush. Later in the year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) published a report. While containing many weaknesses, it proposed a gradual pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq by 2008. President Bush initially made a favorable comment on this report, but rejected it in the end. He even said, "Considering dispatching more troops to Iraq is also an option." The situation in Iraq shows that the United States still clings to maintaining its hegemony with military power, even though such a policy is failing.

We also need to pay attention to U.S. foreign policy developments in East Asia. Last year, a crisis situation emerged over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In this case, unlike in Iraq, the United States did not consider responding to it by launching a war on North Korea.

Okuhara: Apparently, the United States is trying to find a diplomatic solution to the problem.

Shii: That's true. When North Korea conducted a nuclear test explosion, the JCP expressed a protest against it and called for the North Korea issue to be resolved peacefully through diplomacy based on international unanimity. Subsequent events showed that this JCP position was embraced by the international community, including the United States.

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution in this direction. China's State Council member Tang Jiaxuan carried out active diplomacy for the resolution, as did the United States led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In this course of developments, agreement was reached to hold the next round of the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program, which resumed later in the year.
Although difficult, the United States is dealing with East Asian issues mainly using a non-military approach focusing on diplomacy.

Okuhara: Does this indicate that military-only responses are no longer effective in U.S. policy?

Shii: Correct. In Iraq, the United States is clinging to maintaining its hegemony with military power. But apparently, the United States has become aware that this approach is a failure and that it is increasingly isolated in the world. We used more than one angle in analyzing the U.S. moves at the JCP Congress last year. Later developments show that this analysis was correct.

Despite the fact that even the United States finds it difficult to deal with issues by a military-only approach and recognizes the need for diplomacy, the Japanese government does not understand this. In the firm belief that a military response is the only way for the United States to take, the Japanese government is following only the negative aspects of U.S. policies.

Okuhara: Japan's government is subservient to the United States, but it does not fully understand what the United States is doing.

Shii: The JCP has a much better understanding of U.S. policies than the Japanese government. No superpower can control world affairs with military power alone, as proven by the developments in Iraq. Notwithstanding this, the Japanese government is trying to change the peace Constitution and turn Japan into a country that takes part in wars abroad together with U.S. forces. It's the height of folly. (To be continued)
- Akahata, January 1, 2007