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2015/02/05
Renho: “We are strongly determined never to give in to terrorist acts”
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On February 5, DPJ Acting President Renho held her regular press conference at party headquarters.
Renho first referred to distressing images posted on the Internet the previous day which showed a captured Jordanian pilot being murdered by ISIL militants, stating, “Jordan worked hard to try to secure the release of [Japanese captive] Kenji Goto, and the people of Jordan sent us their heartfelt prayers for his wellbeing. The pilot’s brutal murder reinforces our strong determination never to give in to terroristic acts.”
Reporters asked Renho for her opinion of the Japanese government’s response to the capture and murder of two Japanese citizens by ISIL. She first stated, “The administration has been gradually disclosing information to the Diet, but considering the nature of the case, we have no intention of demanding every piece of information be made public.” She went on to comment on the fact that Japan’s National Security Council had not been convened in relation to the incident prior to images showing that Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto had been captured being posted on social media sites on January 20, saying “I believe that the administration themselves should thoroughly investigate whether they had really focused all their resources on this incident, disclose the results of this investigation to the people, and ensure it is debated again in the Diet.”
In his response to a question in the House of Representatives Committee on Budget on February 4, Prime Minister Abe stated “The content of my telephone conversations with other heads of state may involve designated secrets and so I would like to refrain from responding on this point.” Renho commented on this, stating “Certainly it is reasonable to assume the Prime Minister must have had exchanges with various heads of state in relation to the capture of the two men which touch on extremely sensitive issues of national security. I can understand the decision that now is not an appropriate time to disclose all of that information.” She added, “However, I wonder whether the information is really so sensitive that he decided to designate it a special secret in order to protect the lives of Japanese citizens. If he decided to designate as such because its disclosure would in some way inconvenience the government then it should be the subject of debate.”
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