JCP Commendable victory in Local Elections War Bills Protests in Japan

The Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Komei Party used their majority in the House of Representatives plenary session on April 27 to pass the 3 Guidelines-related war bills. The Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party voted against the 3 bills.
The 3 bills were slightly "amended" by the LDP, the Komei Party and the LP, which represented no substantial change.

The Democratic Party of Japan voted against the bill dealing with "situations in areas surrounding Japan," but voted for the bill to revise the Japan-U.S. Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement and for the bill torevise the Self-Defense Forces Law.In the lower house plenary meeting, Mitsuhiro Kaneko, JCP vice chair, spoke against the three bills saying, "These bills will commit Japan to exactly what Japan's Constitution warns against: 'Never again shall we be visited by the horrors of war through the action of government'."

Shigeru Ito, SDP, also spoke against the bills, criticizing the fact that they virtually means changing the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty for the worse.

During and after the Diet session, there were big groups of people, outside the Diet building protesting about the war bills being passed. To pass these 3 bills which concern war and peace, it took the House of Representatives only 3 hours. Kazuo Shii, JCP Secretariat head, met the protesters after the session, and told them about the outrageous passing of the bills by the 3 parties. He said that these bills having been railroaded through the lower house means that the government is not able to clearly account to the people about these bills because they are in a form which the people can't understand. He also said that the government is assuming that there could possibly be preemptive attacks as part of interference in civil war in another country. Shii said when foreign forces interfere in civil war it can be turned into an international issue as is the case with Yugoslavia. Shii said many people have now come to realize the dangerous character of these bills, and the next stage of the struggle will be in the House of Councilors. He called on the protesters to reflect their anger at the outrage of the bills being passed by developing public opinion in favor of these bills being scrapped in the upper house.

Tokyo Emergency Rally against War Bills Attended by 5,000 People

Over 5,000 citizens took part in an emergency rally titled "Opposition to War Bills" at noon on April 27 in Hibiya amphitheater, Tokyo. The rally expressed strong protest at the bills having been railroaded through the House of Representatives Special Committee on Guidelines on April 26, and the government move to do likewise in the HoR plenary session on April 27. Those present demonstrated towards the Diet building and resolved to work to get the bills scrapped.

Yoji Kobayashi, National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) president, severely denounced the railroading of the bills through the Diet. Tetsuzo Fuwa, JCP chair, reported on the Diet situation and made many key points in relation to the three War Bills.

Ken'ichi Otsu from the National Christian Council of Japan (NCC) referred to Japan's war experiences and the great hope for peace and emphasized the vital need for defending the Constitution's peaceful principles. Seiichi Hirayama from the All Japan Seamen's Union spoke about sacrifices by seamen during the 8 year Iran-Iraq war, and the more recent anxiety and concerns in relation to NATO's air strikes on Yugoslavia by U.S. warships in the Adriatic Sea.

Seiya Nishikawa, Zenroren vice president, proposed an action program which emphasizes the urgent need to develop the widest possible cooperation between various strata, and organize successful propaganda actions, rallies and Diet petitions on April 28, May 1 May Day rallies (with slogans against the War Bills), May 3 Constitution Day rallies, and a May 14 rally planned
in Tokyo, etc.

It was announced that Ayako Ishii, 97, former New Japan Women's Association president, was attending the rally, and about 500 teacher union members came from throughout the country and carried out Diet petitioning, street propaganda and attended the rally. After the demonstration to the Diet building, the participants petitioned Dietmembers of respective parties calling on them to vote against the bills and at 2:20 p.m., they protested at the arbitrary passing of the three War Bills by the HoR plenary session.