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2014/06/24
Kaieda states issue of collective self-defence will put party's resolve to overcome differences to the test
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On June 24, DPJ President Banri Kaieda held his regular press conference at party headquarters, and stated his opinions on the following: (1) the general meeting of DPJ Diet members held earlier that same day, (2) calls for intensive deliberations on the issue of permitting the exercise of the right to collective self-defence to take place during the Diet recess, and
(3) the series of disreputable sexist remarks made by LDP Diet members.
Kaieda announced that in the general meeting of DPJ Diet members following the end of the ordinary Diet session, he had expressed his appreciation to DPJ Diet members from both houses and all those involved with the party for their efforts during the 150 days of Diet deliberations, and had gone on to state that in approximately one month's time, on July 26, one year would have passed since the launch of the current party executive following last summer's House of Councillors election, repeating that he would "let you know my thoughts [regarding the direction of the party] in approximately one month from now." Kaieda added that "I would like to listen to the opinions of the intellectuals and local assembly members who are participating in the second session of the party's restoration headquarters, and I would like to travel to the regions and listen to the opinions of local people."
Kaieda also commented on ongoing efforts to finalise the party's position regarding the exercise of the right to collective self-defence within a joint consultative committee of the General Research Committee on the Constitution and the General Research Committee on Security, saying, "We had an extremely vigorous discussion in the meeting held today. The party's position should be finalised in the near future." He also stated that the DPJ would be liaising with other opposition parties to call for intensive deliberations to be held during the Diet recess, so that discussions could take place in the Diet before the Abe administration's proposal to change the interpretation of the Constitution is approved by the Cabinet.
Kaieda also commented on Minister of the Environment Nobuteru Ishihara's comments that negotiations with the disaster-affected areas regarding storage facilities for contaminated soil would "ultimately be settled by money", regarding which motions of no-confidence and dismissal had been submitted in the closing days of the Diet session. He referred to Ishihara's visit to Fukushima Prefecture on June 23, in which he had apologized to Governor Yuhei Sato and the heads of the local authorities concerned, commenting, "He did not apologise directly to the residents of Fukushima Prefecture, who are those most concerned, and so the anger felt by residents of the prefecture has still not died down. As long as this remains the case, the proposal for building an interim storage facility will not move forward, and so I would like to demand that Prime Minister Abe take responsibility for this." Furthermore, he added that while this issue was still being debated, LDP members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly had engaged in sexist jeers in the chamber, and Minister of Finance Taro Aso had made remarks related to the debate over the right to collective defence comparing Japan's current position to the issue of schoolyard bullying, and stated, "The LDP's arrogance has been exposed. They must act much more humbly."
Kaieda also referred to the efforts he has been making to reunite the fragmented DPJ, stating that these would be tested in particular by the finalization of the party position on collective self-defence, which is scheduled to take place shortly.
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