JCP issues statement on 67th anniversary of end of WWII

Amid mounting anger among the general public against the government disregarding public opinion, Japan commemorated the 67th anniversary of the end of World War II. Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi issued the following statement:

Japan commemorates the 67th anniversary of the end of World War II. The war, lasting over 15 years, was waged by Japan with the intention of controlling other Asian nations’ territories and resources. The war of aggression took the lives of more than 20 million people in other Asian nations and cost the lives of over 3 million Japanese. The JCP offers again its sincere condolences to the war victims both at home and abroad. We emphasized the importance of the starting point of postwar Japan which determined that “never again shall we be visited with horrors of war through the action of government, do proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people and do firmly establish this Constitution” (Preamble of the Constitution of Japan), and resolve to strive to build a society in which everybody can live peacefully and affluently.

This is the 60th year since the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty came into effect in 1952. As demonstrated in discussions on “dynamic defense cooperation”, the Japanese government is now stepping up its moves to go to war abroad together with the U.S., even beyond the framework of the security treaty. It is an extraordinary degree of subordination to the U.S. which has reached an impasse in many fields, and the public questioning “if it is right for the nation to stay subject to the U.S. in the future” is becoming widespread among the general public without regard to differences in political standpoints.

The Japanese and U.S. governments are determined to deploy the dangerous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft MV-22 Ospreys to Japan and conduct their low-altitude flight training exercises throughout the country, claiming that the “right to do so is guaranteed by the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.” This has provoked anger against both governments among the general public and local governments all over the nation, including Okinawa, which hosts the U.S. Futenma base where the governments plan to deploy the Ospreys.

The JCP firmly believes that only the abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty will pave the way for solving U.S. base issues and promoting true security in the East Asian region. Based on this perspective, we published our diplomatic vision which calls for abolishing the security treaty to create a truly independent and peaceful Japan in which Article 9 of the Constitution will shine a bright light for peace in the region and beyond.

People’s dissatisfaction and anger at the form of politics which ignores their opinions are growing. Public movements against the restart of nuclear reactors and calling for a total abolition of nuclear power plants have seen an epoch-making growth. The JCP will do our best for Japan’s withdrawal from nuclear power generation in cooperation with the people. Shattering the argument of nuclear deterrence, we will work hard to create a world free from nuclear weapons.

The JCP declares our determination to make our utmost effort to establish a government which implements people-oriented policies and promotes world peace in accordance with the constitutional principle of peace and democracy.