SEP 26-OCT 2 NEWS
Signatures against terrorism and military retaliation being collected on the Net
By escorting U.S. carrier, Japan is rushing to take part in U.S. retaliatory war -- Akahata editorial, September 30, 2001 (excerpts)
U.S. Forces in Japan intensifying moves
USFJ in Okinawa busy in preparations
Ordinary pensioners have difficulty paying doubled cost of nursing care insurance premiums
Employees organize union to demand back pay after company bankruptcy
Job seekers and unemployed, unite!
JCP presses government to invoke safeguards to protect domestic towel producers
Farmers call for compensation for damage from mad cow disease and protection of agriculture
Analysis: Prime Minister Koizumi's promise to send SDF into combat areas
JCP in parliament focuses on struggle to block bill to allow SDF to join
with U.S. Forces in war
JCP opposes Diet resolution supporting U.S. military retaliation
Irresponsible military support for U.S. -- Akahata editorial, September 27,
2001 (excerpts)
Postal service office-backed LDP lawmaker forced to resign
Hibakusha stage sit-in in Hiroshima, protesting against terrorism and
calling for justice
Unions, A-bomb survivors protest against U.S. nuclear test and retaliatory war
Planned health insurance system "reform" threatens life -- Akahata
editorial, September 26, 2001
Ex-health official held guilty for neglect over death from HIV-tainted blood
products
JCP Fuwa and Shii attend China's reception on 52nd anniversary of China's
founding
JCP Shii talks with Russian Ambassador to Japan
Fuwa attends reception for Indonesian president
JCP in parliament focuses on struggle to block bill to allow SDF to join with U.S. Forces in war
The 153rd Extraordinary Session of the Diet opened on September 27 as the Koizumi Cabinet prepares the Self-Defense Forces to go to a war that the United States is about to launch against terrorism.
Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro delivered his policy speech. (see separate item)
JCP Dietmembers
Prior to the opening of the Diet session, Japanese Communist Party members of both Houses held a meeting.
Shii Kazuo, JCP chair, said, "The JCP must take the lead in the effort to raise the level of public opinion calling for terrorists to be brought to justice as the way for eradicating terrorism."
Women lawmakers against terrorism and war for vengeance
About 200 women made up of Dietmembers and local assembly members held a meeting in the Diet to pledge that they will do all they can to eliminate terrorism and stop a disastrous cycle of terrorist attacks and military retaliation from starting.
They were from the Japanese Communist Party, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party of Japan.
The meeting adopted an appeal expressing criticism of the plan to send Self-Defense Force units abroad in support of a U.S. war.
"Stop U.S. retaliatory war": 4,000 people rally and demonstrate in Tokyo
About 4,000 citizens attended an emergency rally to protest terrorism and a possible U.S. retaliatory war, and oppose a bill to send SDF abroad. The rally was organized by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and peace organizations.
After a silent tribute to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York's World trade Center and the Pentagon, Kobayashi Yoji, Zenroren president, and Shii Kazuo, Japanese Communist Party chair, made speeches.
Stressing the need to root out terrorism as a common call of the peoples of Japan and the world, Shii said:
"If the U.S. launches retaliatory strikes against terrorists, it will cause two major problems. First, in Afghanistan, a large number of innocent people will be sacrificed and as many as five million people will face starvation. Second, military retaliation will only be followed by an endless cycle of retaliation and terrorist attacks, which is completely the opposite of eliminating terrorism."
To settle the matter, there is no alternative but to pursue justice by centering efforts around the United Nations, Shii stressed.
Shii criticized the Japanese government for lacking an independent judgment on this issue, and for rushing to railroad through a bill allowing Self-Defense Forces units to take part in retaliatory operations by the U.S. Forces.
Refuting the government argument that the bill is constitutional because there is no possibility for SDF units, when mobilized under the new law, to be involved in a combat environment, Shii said that the planned U.S. retaliatory actions have no basis in international law, and that the bill undermines Japan's Constitution banning the use of force. It is a useless argument, he said.
Ono Noriyuki, Aviation Safety Council chair, representing trade unions related to air, ship, and other traffic industries, reported that since the terrorist incident, service members of Japan's commercial aviation companies have been busy with safety checks, without rest.
The news of the Japan-U.S. summit talks where Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro promised to support a U.S. retaliatory war meant that Japan's commercial aircraft may be terrorists' targets, he said. Using military means must be stopped, he emphasized.
Buddhist Takeda Takao of the Japan Buddha Sangha talked about a recent rally of nearly 300 people from the religious community protesting against the terrorism and military retaliation. He called on all people throughout the world, including religious people to help defend Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan.
Robin Alexander, International Labor Affairs director of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), spoke about a resolution adopted by the UE convention and expressed determination to develop solidarity between UE and peace organizations in Japan.
Masuda Ayumi, Wako High School student in Machida City in Tokyo, referred to study meetings at her school, and peace rallies and demonstrations in midtown Tokyo. She said that special efforts are needed to call on young people to join the movement against the bill for sending the SDF abroad.
After the rally, participants marched in demonstration toward the Diet Building.
In Tokyo on September 30, some 500 young people in the "Peace March" second round marched in demonstration through Shibuya's main street, playing John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance," blowing soap bubbles and showing placards to passers-by, which said "We don't want retaliation" and "Let's try to understand each other."
A young couple walking with their baby on a stroller said, "When our baby was born, we began to think about peace."
A female university student preparing to go to a graduate school in the U.S. said, "In my class students were talking about Akahata's reports. I think Akahata is best in writing about the terror attack issue. I hope that it continue to provide us with important information."