On December 21, DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa responded to reporters窶 questions at party headquarters following the party窶冱 submission of a 窶徼errorism elimination bill窶? He stressed that there was no change in the party窶冱 strategy of blocking the passing of the new refuelling legislation proposed by the government.

Ozawa said, 窶廬f we dispatch the SDF overseas merely in response to short-term benefits and needs, it will lead the nation in the wrong direction.窶 He added that the party, and in particular the relevant sections of the Next Cabinet, had drawn up a proposal focusing on civilian assistance for Afghanistan.

Regarding the DPJ proposal, Ozawa said, 窶徼he government窶冱 so-called bill for providing refuelling assistance to the US military, and the DPJ bill proposing that we should provide public welfare assistance to the people of Afghanistan within the framework of United Nations activities; these two [proposals] are now on the table. It should be easier for the Japanese people to understand now.窶?/p>

Ozawa commented on the party窶冱 response to the government legislation, saying, 窶彈rear-area support] means providing supplies to United States military operations. It is also against the spirit of the Constitution. This is not a path we ought to take. We should limit our activities to those lying within the framework of United Nations operations.窶 He stressed that there was no change in the party窶冱 strategy of using all means at their disposal to prevent the government legislation from being passed and to ensure that it ends up being scrapped.

Ozawa also referred to the fact that the majority of questions submitted by the DPJ regarding the scandals at the Ministry of Defense had not been satisfactorily answered by the government. He said that the questions concerned information that should be provided as a matter of course and called on the government to respond openly. He added that the DPJ would call for as much debate as possible on their proposal to take place during the extended Diet session.

(07/12/21)