March 2, 2026

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira appeared on NHK’s “Sunday Debate” program aired on March 1. The large-scale preemptive attack launched by the United States and Israel on various sites in Iran on February 28 was a key discussion point.

Koike stated that coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes across Iran are clearly violating the UN Charter, and condemned Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi for failing to utter a word of criticism. He emphasized that Japan should demand that the U.S. halt the attack and seek a solution through negotiations.”

Noting that U.S. President Trump is calling for regime change in Iran, Koike warned, “Continuous strikes would seriously jeopardize peace in the Middle East and the rest of the world.” He added, “Japan must not involve the Self-Defense Forces in this conflict under the pretext of a ‘crisis of a survival-threatening situation’.”

When asked by the program host whether the Japanese government “can support” the U.S.-Israel joint attack, LDP Secretary-General Suzuki Shun’ichi avoided criticizing the U.S. administration, saying, “We cannot simply condemn it based only on the emerging reports.” Most other political parties also refrained from explicitly criticizing the joint attack.