 Government names 160 institutions for cooperation in the event of outside attack The government on September 7 published a list of 160 entities, including airlines and commercial broadcasting stations, as public institutions which will be forced to cooperate with the government in case of outside attacks. Under the Law on Response to Armed Attacks, these designated organizations are forced to cooperate in war in the name of "protecting the public". The number is far greater than the 62 institutions designated for disaster prevention. They are asked to carry out shelter and relief activities even at the stage that armed attacks on Japan are merely "predicted". This is aimed at facilitating participation by the U.S. forces stationed in Japan and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in U.S. wars outside of Japan. The designation includes 78 rail and air transport companies, 20 broadcasting stations, and 16 telecommunication companies. Those designated must draft and submit their operational plans for "protecting the public" to the government in FY 2005. In a published statement on the same day, the Japan Federation of Aviation Workers' Union criticized the government for designating 9 commercial airlines. It stated that the designation is a concrete step toward using commercial airlines for military purposes, and that the union will increase its struggle in defense of the war renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution and in opposition to the use of commercial aircraft for military purposes. Usui Kazuya, president of the Japan Federation of Commercial Broadcast Workers' Unions, published a statement in protest against the designation of 19 commercial broadcasting stations and NHK as entities that will be forced to cooperate with the government in war. He said, "It endangers freedom of speech which is premised above all on independence from state power. It will lead to the government keeping facts from the public." (end) |