September 26, 2026

In a street speech in Yokohama on September 25, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira addressed Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s recent speech at the UN General Assembly in which she called for the deletion of the “enemy state” clauses from the UN Charter. Koike acknowledged that removing these clauses is a natural progression. He, however, stated that the Japanese government needs a clear acknowledgment of, and remorse for, its past war of aggression.

Koike noted that the enemy state clauses were originally created to prevent the Axis powers of World War II - Japan, Germany, and Italy - from waging another war of aggression, but the UN General Assembly has already adopted a resolution recognizing them as “obsolete.” Consequently, he stated that removing them is a natural course of action to be taken.

At the same time, Koike stressed that for the clauses to be deleted, the Japanese government must, at the very least, clearly recognize and express remorse for its past war of aggression. He pointed out that PM Takaichi demanding the removal of the clauses with reference to Japan’s “pride and honor" without showing remorse would only breed further distrust of Japan’s intentions. He strongly urged that her priority should be to acknowledge the facts of Japan's past wrongdoing and show remorse.

The enemy state clauses

Article 107 (along with Article 53) of the UN Charter defines enemy states as “any state which during the Second World War has been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter.” This applies to seven nations, including Japan, Germany, and Italy. Because the United Nations was established to prevent another global conflict, it incorporated measures to guard against renewed aggression by these aggressor nations. In December 1995, however, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to initiate Charter amendment procedures to delete these clauses at an appropriate future session. The Japanese government likewise considers these clauses to be a dead letter.