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2015/07/16
Okada opposes steamrollering of security legislation through Lower House, calls for “immediate withdrawal of government proposal that has failed to gain public support”
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On July 16, a plenary session of the House of Representatives was convened on the authority of the Chair of the House Committee on Rules and Administration without obtaining the agreement of the opposition parties, with the vote on the security-related bills on the agenda. Prior to the vote, DPJ President Katsuya Okada took to the podium and called for the vote to be abandoned and the legislation scrapped, stating, “80% of the Japanese people say that the government’s explanation [of this legislation] is insufficient. Forcing a vote under such circumstances is a massive blot upon Japan’s post-war democracy.”
Okada pointed out the following issues with regard to the legislation: (1) a change in the interpretation of the Constitution equivalent to revising the Constitution had taken place through a Cabinet decision, (2) the Prime Minister had promised that the legislation would be enacted in a speech to the U.S. Congress and (3) ten pieces of legislation had been bundled together and submitted as one bill, showing that the Prime Minister had no intention of debating the matter seriously. Okada stressed, “What Prime Minister Abe should be doing now is admitting honestly that he has been unable to obtain the support of the public for the government proposal, and immediately scrapping the legislation.”
Following this, Okada spoke at a meeting held by the DPJ and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation at a venue near the Diet, stressing: “We will continue to fight on in the Diet. Let’s all work together to force the scrapping of this security legislation that violates our Constitution.”
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