ASIAN WIDE CAMPAIGN
Japan Committee
Dear friends,
The Japanese government has resumed re-fueling of oil to the imperialists' aggressive war in Afghanistan in spite of opposition of the people.
Last January 24 a Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer `Murasame' set off from Yokosuka military port for Middle East for the refueling mission aimed at Afghanistan.
The mission started soon after the September 11 incident in 2001. Then prime minister Koizumi in connivance with Bush pushed through the participation in the unjust war in Afghanistan, in the name of anti-terrorism mission. It was a blatant violation of Japanese Constitution which prohibits the aggression and rights to collective defense. But the government falsely excused that the mission was just a logistic support to the global war against terrorism and that it is duty of international community. Since then they were involved in the war these six years. But these years have been the years of grave suffering of war-drive and globalization to Japanese people. In 2006 Abe took place of Koizumi under the same policies, but because of expanding anger among people, Abe was defeated in the Upper House election and stepped down last September.
The first task for the incumbent prime minister Fukuda was to challenge people to pass the law that enables to continue refueling mission. But then scandals of Defense Ministry high-rank officials, graft and corruption of weapon import from the U.S. were disclosed. In addition, an NGO group exposed tricky lies of the government; the government understated the refueling oil to aggressive troops and U.S. used refueled oil to attack on Iraq. People got so angry that Fukuda administration was not able to enact the new law before the anti-terror law expired last November 1. The MSDF vessels in activity in the Indian Ocean were called back to Japan.
Pushed by Washington the Japanese government dared to adopt the new anti-terror law in the Lower House, which was later rejected by Upper House where the opposition were majority. However, the government finally railroaded the law through the second voting in the Lower House last January 11. And now destroyer 'Murasama' and a support ship `Ohmi' will arrive in Indian Ocean to support imperialists' military operation in Afghanistan and Middle East.
Though people's movement and anti-war forces could not stop the resumption, they are determined to stop U.S.-led 'war on terror,' and scrap the government war policies as well as U.S. military re-alignment project, in good cooperation with global anti-war camps.
Friday, Jan. 25, 2008
AWC International Secretariat