Shii calls for creating peaceful community in Northeast Asia

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo introduced a plan for creating peace in Northeast Asia at the party's 9th Central Committee Plenum held on November 12.

The plenum took place in order to finalize a draft resolution to be proposed to the party's 26th Congress scheduled for January 2014.

In his presentation of the draft resolution, Shii referred to controversial international issues such as the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands with China as well as North Korea's nuclear development. He underscored the importance of making diplomatic efforts to establish a peaceful environment in the region, outlining the main pillars of his plan as follows:

Northeast Asian nations enter into a treaty of friendship and cooperation which would oblige them to refrain from exercising force as well as promote dialogue among them; develop the six-party talks over the issue of North Korea into a framework for peace and stability in the region; establish a code of conduct to settle territorial disputes through calm negotiations; and Japan would admit responsibility for its war of aggression and colonial rule of other Asian countries as well as oppose any attempt to rewrite the history.

Citing the fact that South Korean President Park-Geun Hye has also put forward a similar proposal, Shii stressed that the JCP's plan is realizable. He called on relevant countries to strive to create a regional community of peace based on the concept of "peaceful security", a new proposal ensuring security by peaceful means.