February 8, 2023

The Civil Alliance working to abolish the national security-related legislation (aka. war laws) and restore constitutionalism on February 7 submitted a 14-item request to the Japanese Communist Party.

The Civil Alliance in its request listed 14 demands which need to be fulfilled in the current Diet session such as the following: opposing Japan’s possession of an enemy-base strike capability and additional tax hikes to pay for a boost in military spending; making efforts to establish genuine peace in Northeast Asia without escalating military tensions; and putting a stop to the Henoko base project in Okinawa and the plan to deploy missiles to the Nansei Islands in the southernmost part of Japan.

In a meeting with the Civil Alliance, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo said, “I totally agree with the 14 demands. Let us work together to achieve these goals.”

Shii stressed, “In particular, to prevent the proposed huge arms buildup and Japan’s acquisition of a capability to attack enemy bases are a matter of the utmost importance in the current Diet session.” He pointed out that the three key national security documents (the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Program Guidelines, and the Mid-Term Defense Program) focus on Japan’s possession of the enemy-base strike capability and military expansion as a way to put the national security-related legislation into practice. He said, “The JCP seeks to develop a national movement even stronger than that organized against the war laws.”

Regarding opposition parties’ joint struggles, Shii said that the JCP will work to rebuild and revitalize the joint struggles of opposition parties with concerned citizens through its efforts to increase people’s opposition to the Kishida government’s military expansion policy.