Upper House passes bill to withdraw SDF from Iraq

   With the support of the Japanese Communist, Democratic, and Social Democratic parties, the House of Councilors in its plenary session on November 28 passed a bill to repeal the Special Measures Law on Iraq that allows the Self-Defense Forces to be dispatched to Iraq. The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties voted against it.

   This bill was sent to the House of Representatives. The bill, if enacted, will force the government to pull the Air SDF units out of Iraq.

   It was the first time that such a bill passed through a Diet committee as well as one of the Houses since 2003 when the government first dispatched the SDF to Iraq. This development reflects the popular will expressed in the July House of Councilors election. It also conforms to international public opinion demanding withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.

   The JCP has been consistent in demanding the immediate withdrawal of the SDF from Iraq.

   In the November 27 House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, JCP representative Inoue Satoshi stressed that the deployment of the SDF to Iraq in support of the unlawful war and the subsequent U.S. occupation clearly goes against the Constitution.

   Inoue criticized the government by pointing out that: (i) despite the fact there is no justification for the Iraq war, the government is still supporting the war; (ii) U.S. troops that the ASDF has been transporting in Iraq are engaged in operations killing many innocent civilians; and (iii) the government fails to review its Iraq policy in disregard of increasing international public opinion in opposition to the war and the stationing of foreign troops in Iraq as evidenced by the recent decision of Australia and other coalition countries to withdraw their forces.
- Akahata, November 29, 2007