June 17, 2025

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Major Japanese media outlets are concerned about and critical of U.S. President Trump’s disregard for the U.N. Charter and international law. However, they hardly question the Japan-U.S. alliance, the root of Japan’s subservience to the United States.

Initially, the government avoided using the term “Japan-U.S. alliance” in order to hide the fact that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty was a military alliance. In 1960, when the Diet discussed the revision of the treaty, then Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke stated, “It is not what we should call a military alliance.”

In the 1980s, Japan and the U.S. issued a joint statement, affirming for the first time that the two countries were in an “alliance” relationship. However, the Diet was divided over whether the alliance relationship had military significance, which resulted in forcing the Foreign Minister at that time to resign.

Today, most media outlets take the close Japan-U.S. relationship for granted. Their biggest taboo is to raise an objection to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty or the Japan-U.S. military alliance.

Sixty-five years ago, in the midst of massive protests against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the seven newspapers, including the Asahi, the Mainichi, and the Yomiuri, issued a joint declaration which called for an end to the ever-increasing anti-alliance movement, and PM Kishi in response held a series of meetings with leaders of the newspaper companies. This event epitomized the Japanese media’s weakness, falling into a cozy relationship with power.

Many in the media are certainly voicing their concerns about U.S. President Trump, but they generally advocate for a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance.

In contrast, the Japanese Communist Party calls for the abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and for the establishment of a friendly relationship with the United States on a truly equal footing. Of course, even under the existence of the Japan-U.S. military alliance, it is important to demand that the government employ policies that prevent war and to create a popular movement against war. The JCP’s “Proposal for Peacebuilding in East Asia” is aimed at creating a peaceful community in the region, irrespective of each country’s position on military alliances.

How long will Japan’s major media outlets continue to condone and even support the U.S. military presence in Japan and Japan’s subservience to the U.S. government? Their integrity and courage are being called into question.