November 4, 2011

Dietmembers from all parties elected from Okinawa jointly issued an urgent statement on November 3, expressing their opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. This was the first move by Dietmembers who organized themselves on a prefectural basis in opposition to the TPP.

The statement issued at a press conference in Naha city in Okinawa criticized the Noda Cabinet's move to enter into the TPP negotiations as “too hasty, given the divided public opinion.” Detailing the expected huge damage brought by the TPP on a broad swath of people's lives, the statement expressed “strong determination to resist an entry into the TPP negotiations.”

Among the eight parliamentarians who either were elected or hailed from Okinawa, seven were present at the press conference.

Akamine Seiken, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives, emphasized his opposition to the TPP, pointing out that the free-trade pact would impose U.S. rules on every aspect of the people's livelihoods, including food and agriculture.

The Dietmembers who signed and placed a seal on the statement other than the JCP's Akamine were as follows:
Tamaki Denny, Member of the House of Representatives (Democratic Party)
Zukeran Chobin, Member of the House of Representatives (Democratic Party)
Teruya Kantoku, Member of the House of Representatives (Social Democratic Party)
Yamauchi Tokushin, Member of the House of Councilors (Social Democratic Party)
Shimoji Mikio, Member of the House of Representatives (People's New Party)
Itokazu Keiko, Member of the House of Councilors (Okinawa Social Mass Party)
Shimajiri Aiko, Member of the House of Councilors (Liberal Democratic Party)