There will be numerous events happening in New York in May, related to the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. About 100 Hibakusha (a-bomb survivors) will be there to call for nuclear abolition.
Vancouver Save Article 9 is one of the endorsing organizations of the NGO Conference in New York "Disarm! Now," which will take place on April 30 and May 1 at Riverside Church, New York. About 1,000 delegates from all around the world will gather to call for a sustainable world without nuclear weapons.
http://peaceandjusticenow.org/wordpress/
VSA9, Peace Philosophy Centre and Hiroshima's NGO HANWA (Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition) will offer a workshop on May 1.
"Atomic Bombings and Indiscriminate Attacks On Civilians "
http://peaceandjusticenow.org/wordpress/2010/04/workshops/
Also, Peace Philosophy Centre is one of the co-sponsors of Symposium "The Wisdom of the Survivor"to take place at Schimmel Theater, at Pace University in Lower Manhattan.
http://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/wisdomconf/index.html
The bilingual version (English and Japanese) of the program is here:
http://peacephilosophy.blogspot.com/2010/03/may-4-symposium-in-new-york-wisdom-of.html
I hope those of you who have friends, family, and colleagues in New York will spread the word.
Satoko Norimatsu
Director, VSA9
4.20.2010
4.16.2010
Okinawa marines said dispensable
Rarely in the Japanese media we see this well-researched, well-balanced article like this.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100416f4.html
Okinawa marines said dispensable
Analysts say force levels have been greatly reduced and question their role as a deterrent
By YUTAKA YOSHIDA
Kyodo News
The clock is ticking for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he works to decide where to relocate the controversial U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, but there has been little discussion regarding whether it is reasonable to assert that the presence of the marines in Okinawa is indispensable.
Military experts in Japan say the number of marines actually stationed in Okinawa has been much smaller in recent years than the formal tally, prompting some to doubt whether keeping many marines there would act as a deterrent.
In February, a top marine commander came to Tokyo and made a pitch for the importance of the marines' presence in terms of the fundamental nature of the 1960 bilateral security treaty.
During a U.S. Embassy-organized gathering, Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the Marine Corps' Pacific force, said the current deployment of marines in Okinawa is "the perfect model" to support the bilateral alliance's objectives of "deterring, defending and defeating potential adversaries."
"Our service members are prepared to risk their lives in defense of Japan. . . . Japan does not have a reciprocal obligation to defend the United States" under the treaty, Stalder said.
"In return for U.S. defense guarantees, Japan provides bases, opportunities to train and, in more recent times, financial support," he said.
Stalder said the United States "accepts this asymmetry" but hinted Washington wants Tokyo to always keep this in mind.
But military analyst Shoji Fukuyoshi has his doubts, saying the deployment of marines in Okinawa has been "hollowed out."
The United States says the full strength of the marines in Okinawa is around 18,000, while the prefectural government says the number is actually about 12,000.
Many ground units do not remain in Okinawa on a regular basis but rotate to the prefecture, local government officials said, adding some of the units have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fukuyoshi said the U.S. side claims it has four infantry battalions in Okinawa, but three of them, with a total of around 2,000 members, have been away from the island since 2003.
Under the current bilateral agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, around 8,000 marines in Okinawa will be transferred to Guam and the remaining 10,000 will theoretically remain in the prefecture.
The U.S. Marine Corps has three expeditionary forces and Okinawa is the only location outside of the U.S. mainland that hosts one of them, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, which manages facilities including the Futenma air station — the base at the center of the controversy between Japan and the United States. Nearly 60 percent of U.S. service personnel stationed in Okinawa are marines.
But there is a view that only the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has about 2,200 members, could deal with an emergency by boarding four amphibious assault ships in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture.
Security experts say marine units should stay in Okinawa for purposes such as providing ground force presence, rescuing civilians in an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, antiterrorism operations in Asia and disaster relief activities.
But Masaaki Gabe, an expert on international politics, said, "The U.S. Navy and Air Force in Japan could be seen as a deterrent. But I don't see meaning in keeping the marines."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100416f4.html
Okinawa marines said dispensable
Analysts say force levels have been greatly reduced and question their role as a deterrent
By YUTAKA YOSHIDA
Kyodo News
The clock is ticking for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he works to decide where to relocate the controversial U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, but there has been little discussion regarding whether it is reasonable to assert that the presence of the marines in Okinawa is indispensable.
Military experts in Japan say the number of marines actually stationed in Okinawa has been much smaller in recent years than the formal tally, prompting some to doubt whether keeping many marines there would act as a deterrent.
In February, a top marine commander came to Tokyo and made a pitch for the importance of the marines' presence in terms of the fundamental nature of the 1960 bilateral security treaty.
During a U.S. Embassy-organized gathering, Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the Marine Corps' Pacific force, said the current deployment of marines in Okinawa is "the perfect model" to support the bilateral alliance's objectives of "deterring, defending and defeating potential adversaries."
"Our service members are prepared to risk their lives in defense of Japan. . . . Japan does not have a reciprocal obligation to defend the United States" under the treaty, Stalder said.
"In return for U.S. defense guarantees, Japan provides bases, opportunities to train and, in more recent times, financial support," he said.
Stalder said the United States "accepts this asymmetry" but hinted Washington wants Tokyo to always keep this in mind.
But military analyst Shoji Fukuyoshi has his doubts, saying the deployment of marines in Okinawa has been "hollowed out."
The United States says the full strength of the marines in Okinawa is around 18,000, while the prefectural government says the number is actually about 12,000.
Many ground units do not remain in Okinawa on a regular basis but rotate to the prefecture, local government officials said, adding some of the units have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fukuyoshi said the U.S. side claims it has four infantry battalions in Okinawa, but three of them, with a total of around 2,000 members, have been away from the island since 2003.
Under the current bilateral agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, around 8,000 marines in Okinawa will be transferred to Guam and the remaining 10,000 will theoretically remain in the prefecture.
The U.S. Marine Corps has three expeditionary forces and Okinawa is the only location outside of the U.S. mainland that hosts one of them, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, which manages facilities including the Futenma air station — the base at the center of the controversy between Japan and the United States. Nearly 60 percent of U.S. service personnel stationed in Okinawa are marines.
But there is a view that only the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has about 2,200 members, could deal with an emergency by boarding four amphibious assault ships in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture.
Security experts say marine units should stay in Okinawa for purposes such as providing ground force presence, rescuing civilians in an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, antiterrorism operations in Asia and disaster relief activities.
But Masaaki Gabe, an expert on international politics, said, "The U.S. Navy and Air Force in Japan could be seen as a deterrent. But I don't see meaning in keeping the marines."
4.14.2010
In Memory of Inoue
Inoue was one of the founding members of Article 9 Association, like Kato Shuichi and Oda Makoto, who also passed away recently. (photo from the Article 9 Association website)VSA9 produced a play reading "The Face of Jizo" by Inoue in June, 2006, as part of the World Peace Forum. (photo by Nishimura Makoto, Kyodo News)
Inoue will be remembered forever.
Asahi Editorial April 13, 2010
An extraordinary comedy writer and a modern-day popular writer. A man of knowledge and fountain of wisdom. An observer of the times. A pro-Constitution pacifist, activist and intellectual.
Hisashi Inoue, who died last Friday at age 75, was all these things--and more. But there was just one thread that tied his many activities together, and that was his determination to rely on his own eyes and head to deliver his messages to his audience in simple language.
Inoue's novels and plays deal with profound subjects, but all are easy to read and understand. That was because he focused on the core or essence of each subject, refined it with great care and chose the most appropriate language and style in which to package his product.
To make this possible, Inoue collected every bit of research material he could lay his hands on, pored over the materials and thought them through. He expended tremendous time and energy in his quest to establish his own paradigm of history and the workings of the world.
Such a fastidious approach to his profession was not unrelated to his background.
Born in 1934, Inoue was 5 years old when he lost his father, a leftist activist. He was 10 at the end of World War II, and spent his boyhood in an atmosphere of postwar liberalism. His home of many years was a Catholic institution for children, where he lived until he graduated from senior high school.
Inoue began writing and submitting his works to literary contests in hopes of winning prize money. He got his training as a skit writer at a strip-tease joint in Tokyo's Asakusa district. He also wrote scripts for TV shows when television was still in its infancy as a mass communication medium.
And when he debuted as a playwright, he chose comedy as his genre, even though it was still considered out of the mainstream in the theatrical world.
Anything but an Establishment elite, Inoue was a writer born from the undulating waves of populism of his era. And precisely because of this, he understood the necessity of depending on his own eyes and using his own head to learn from history, lest he make the mistake of getting caught unawares and being swept away in a surge of some "wrong" wave of history that might again engulf the nation.
In particular, Inoue persisted in questioning what World War II had been really about.
"Yami ni Saku Hana" (A flower blooming in the dark) is a play about Class B and C war criminals, and its protagonist is a young World War II veteran. A line in this play goes: "It's wrong to forget what happened. It's even more wrong to pretend to forget."
From 2001 to 2006, Inoue worked on a series of three plays written for New National Theatre, Tokyo. Collectively known as "Tokyo Saiban Sanbu-saku" (Tokyo war crimes trial trilogy), the plays deal with the issue of war responsibility of ordinary Japanese citizens.
Inoue called the Tokyo tribunal "a flawed gemstone." But despite the flaw, he evaluated it highly for enabling the Japanese people to learn their nation's hidden history from classified government documents submitted to the tribunal.
In part of the serial run of the three plays at New National Theatre, Tokyo, Part One of the trilogy started last Thursday. Inoue died the following day, right after the curtain came down on the play amid thunderous applause.
"If we continue to disrespect the past, the future will eventually disrespect us," Inoue commented concerning this play. These became his final words for the public.
Inoue's entire life was spent creating a vast "universe of words." The constellations that shimmer there will continue to entertain us. They will also be our guiding stars as we journey through life.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 13
An extraordinary comedy writer and a modern-day popular writer. A man of knowledge and fountain of wisdom. An observer of the times. A pro-Constitution pacifist, activist and intellectual.
Hisashi Inoue, who died last Friday at age 75, was all these things--and more. But there was just one thread that tied his many activities together, and that was his determination to rely on his own eyes and head to deliver his messages to his audience in simple language.
Inoue's novels and plays deal with profound subjects, but all are easy to read and understand. That was because he focused on the core or essence of each subject, refined it with great care and chose the most appropriate language and style in which to package his product.
To make this possible, Inoue collected every bit of research material he could lay his hands on, pored over the materials and thought them through. He expended tremendous time and energy in his quest to establish his own paradigm of history and the workings of the world.
Such a fastidious approach to his profession was not unrelated to his background.
Born in 1934, Inoue was 5 years old when he lost his father, a leftist activist. He was 10 at the end of World War II, and spent his boyhood in an atmosphere of postwar liberalism. His home of many years was a Catholic institution for children, where he lived until he graduated from senior high school.
Inoue began writing and submitting his works to literary contests in hopes of winning prize money. He got his training as a skit writer at a strip-tease joint in Tokyo's Asakusa district. He also wrote scripts for TV shows when television was still in its infancy as a mass communication medium.
And when he debuted as a playwright, he chose comedy as his genre, even though it was still considered out of the mainstream in the theatrical world.
Anything but an Establishment elite, Inoue was a writer born from the undulating waves of populism of his era. And precisely because of this, he understood the necessity of depending on his own eyes and using his own head to learn from history, lest he make the mistake of getting caught unawares and being swept away in a surge of some "wrong" wave of history that might again engulf the nation.
In particular, Inoue persisted in questioning what World War II had been really about.
"Yami ni Saku Hana" (A flower blooming in the dark) is a play about Class B and C war criminals, and its protagonist is a young World War II veteran. A line in this play goes: "It's wrong to forget what happened. It's even more wrong to pretend to forget."
From 2001 to 2006, Inoue worked on a series of three plays written for New National Theatre, Tokyo. Collectively known as "Tokyo Saiban Sanbu-saku" (Tokyo war crimes trial trilogy), the plays deal with the issue of war responsibility of ordinary Japanese citizens.
Inoue called the Tokyo tribunal "a flawed gemstone." But despite the flaw, he evaluated it highly for enabling the Japanese people to learn their nation's hidden history from classified government documents submitted to the tribunal.
In part of the serial run of the three plays at New National Theatre, Tokyo, Part One of the trilogy started last Thursday. Inoue died the following day, right after the curtain came down on the play amid thunderous applause.
"If we continue to disrespect the past, the future will eventually disrespect us," Inoue commented concerning this play. These became his final words for the public.
Inoue's entire life was spent creating a vast "universe of words." The constellations that shimmer there will continue to entertain us. They will also be our guiding stars as we journey through life.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 13
4.13.2010
Records show Japan collaborated with U.S. to have base presence ruled Constitutional砂川事件：「跳躍上告検討」など外務省公開文書に協議内容
Mainichi Shimbun - April 8, 2010
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2010/04/09/20100409p2a00m0na021000c.html
Records show Japan collaborated with U.S. to have base presence ruled Constitutional
Gentaro Tsuchiya, left, and Shigeru Sakata show off copies of the document, released by the Foreign Ministry. (Mainichi)After a district court ruled in 1959 that the U.S. military presence in Japan was unconstitutional, Tokyo told Washington that it was considering skipping normal procedures and directly appealing the case to the Supreme Court to have the ruling reversed, it has been learned.
The information comes from a group of former defendants in the case, which is known as the "Sunagawa Case," who disclosed the details of a now declassified document they received from the Foreign Ministry. The document shows that Japanese and U.S. officials held secret consultations in a desperate bid to nullify the ruling as quickly as possible.
The document contains a record of a meeting between then Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama and then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II on April 1, 1959, only two days after the Tokyo District Court ruling.
At the beginning of the meeting, Fujiyama promised to continue efforts to revise the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty despite the ruling.
He then told MacArthur that Japan was considering appealing the district court ruling to the Supreme Court, skipping a high court.
When MacArthur then asked Fujiyama what the prospects were for such a maneuver, Fujiyama responded that he had heard that the Supreme Court would place priority on the case, but it would still take three or four months before it handed down a ruling.
In April 2008, it was separately learned from a declassified U.S. document that MacArthur met with Fujiyama the day after the original ruling and recommended that Japan appeal directly to the Supreme Court. However, the Foreign Ministry has denied that it has any record of this meeting.
"It's impossible that this record does not exist. We'll ask for it again," said one of the former defendants, Gentaro Tsuchiya, 75.
"I want to use all my power to continue getting the release of important documents as long as I'm alive," said another defendant, 80-year-old Shigeru Sakata.
Tsuchiya and Sakata were among seven protesters indicted for trespassing on a U.S. base in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, in 1957. However, in March 1959 the Tokyo District Court acquitted all, ruling that the U.S. military presence in Japan was unconstitutional.
Prosecutors appealed the case directly to the Supreme Court, skipping the Tokyo High Court. The Supreme Court overturned the district court's decision in December 1959.
The Supreme Court's ruling came only a month before the January 1960 revision to the bilateral security treaty. It is likely that Tokyo and Washington were attempting to annul the lower court decision before the treaty revision.
毎日新聞 ４月８日
砂川事件：「跳躍上告検討」など外務省公開文書に協議内容
http://mainichi.jp/select/wadai/news/20100409k0000m040091000c.html
東京都砂川町（現立川市）にあった米軍立川基地での「砂川事件」（１９５７年）を巡る情報公開請求に対し、外務省が一転して文書を開示した問題で、請求者の元被告らが８日記者会見し、文書の内容を明らかにした。米軍駐留を違憲とした「伊達判決」（５９年）について、当時の外相が控訴を経ずに上告する「跳躍上告」の検討を駐日米大使に伝えたり、大使が外相に上告審の見通しを尋ねるなどした内容で、日米が違憲状態の早期解消を狙い協議したことが裏付けられた。
文書は、伊達判決２日後の４月１日の「藤山大臣在京米大使会談録」。日本側は藤山愛一郎外相ら４人、米側はマッカーサー大使ら３人が出席した会談が記録されている。
会談は日米安保条約改定作業のためと推測され、藤山外相は冒頭で伊達判決に触れ、「改定交渉は引き続き継続する」と明言。「最高裁に直接、上告するか検討中」としている。大使は上告審の見通しを尋ね、外相は「優先的に扱うと聞いているが、３、４カ月はかかる」と答えている。
伊達判決を巡っては０８年４月、大使が判決翌日に外相と会い、跳躍上告を勧めたことが米側公文書で判明している。今回、その会談録は開示されず、元被告の土屋源太郎さん（７５）は「この１通しか文書がないというのはあり得ない。再度請求したい」と述べた。元被告の坂田茂さん（８０）は「もっと重要な文書が出てくるよう命ある限り闘いたい」と力を込めた。【野口由紀】
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2010/04/09/20100409p2a00m0na021000c.html
Records show Japan collaborated with U.S. to have base presence ruled Constitutional
Gentaro Tsuchiya, left, and Shigeru Sakata show off copies of the document, released by the Foreign Ministry. (Mainichi)After a district court ruled in 1959 that the U.S. military presence in Japan was unconstitutional, Tokyo told Washington that it was considering skipping normal procedures and directly appealing the case to the Supreme Court to have the ruling reversed, it has been learned.
The information comes from a group of former defendants in the case, which is known as the "Sunagawa Case," who disclosed the details of a now declassified document they received from the Foreign Ministry. The document shows that Japanese and U.S. officials held secret consultations in a desperate bid to nullify the ruling as quickly as possible.
The document contains a record of a meeting between then Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama and then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II on April 1, 1959, only two days after the Tokyo District Court ruling.
At the beginning of the meeting, Fujiyama promised to continue efforts to revise the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty despite the ruling.
He then told MacArthur that Japan was considering appealing the district court ruling to the Supreme Court, skipping a high court.
When MacArthur then asked Fujiyama what the prospects were for such a maneuver, Fujiyama responded that he had heard that the Supreme Court would place priority on the case, but it would still take three or four months before it handed down a ruling.
In April 2008, it was separately learned from a declassified U.S. document that MacArthur met with Fujiyama the day after the original ruling and recommended that Japan appeal directly to the Supreme Court. However, the Foreign Ministry has denied that it has any record of this meeting.
"It's impossible that this record does not exist. We'll ask for it again," said one of the former defendants, Gentaro Tsuchiya, 75.
"I want to use all my power to continue getting the release of important documents as long as I'm alive," said another defendant, 80-year-old Shigeru Sakata.
Tsuchiya and Sakata were among seven protesters indicted for trespassing on a U.S. base in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, in 1957. However, in March 1959 the Tokyo District Court acquitted all, ruling that the U.S. military presence in Japan was unconstitutional.
Prosecutors appealed the case directly to the Supreme Court, skipping the Tokyo High Court. The Supreme Court overturned the district court's decision in December 1959.
The Supreme Court's ruling came only a month before the January 1960 revision to the bilateral security treaty. It is likely that Tokyo and Washington were attempting to annul the lower court decision before the treaty revision.
毎日新聞 ４月８日
砂川事件：「跳躍上告検討」など外務省公開文書に協議内容
http://mainichi.jp/select/wadai/news/20100409k0000m040091000c.html
東京都砂川町（現立川市）にあった米軍立川基地での「砂川事件」（１９５７年）を巡る情報公開請求に対し、外務省が一転して文書を開示した問題で、請求者の元被告らが８日記者会見し、文書の内容を明らかにした。米軍駐留を違憲とした「伊達判決」（５９年）について、当時の外相が控訴を経ずに上告する「跳躍上告」の検討を駐日米大使に伝えたり、大使が外相に上告審の見通しを尋ねるなどした内容で、日米が違憲状態の早期解消を狙い協議したことが裏付けられた。
文書は、伊達判決２日後の４月１日の「藤山大臣在京米大使会談録」。日本側は藤山愛一郎外相ら４人、米側はマッカーサー大使ら３人が出席した会談が記録されている。
会談は日米安保条約改定作業のためと推測され、藤山外相は冒頭で伊達判決に触れ、「改定交渉は引き続き継続する」と明言。「最高裁に直接、上告するか検討中」としている。大使は上告審の見通しを尋ね、外相は「優先的に扱うと聞いているが、３、４カ月はかかる」と答えている。
伊達判決を巡っては０８年４月、大使が判決翌日に外相と会い、跳躍上告を勧めたことが米側公文書で判明している。今回、その会談録は開示されず、元被告の土屋源太郎さん（７５）は「この１通しか文書がないというのはあり得ない。再度請求したい」と述べた。元被告の坂田茂さん（８０）は「もっと重要な文書が出てくるよう命ある限り闘いたい」と力を込めた。【野口由紀】
4.12.2010
Support for Constitution Rising 読売新聞憲法世論調査
読売新聞２０１０年４月９日
憲法改正「賛成」減少４３％、「反対」と拮抗
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/20080116-907457/news/20100409-OYT1T00167.htm
読売新聞社が３月２７、２８の両日に実施した憲法に関する全国世論調査（面接方式）によると、憲法を「改正する方がよい」とする人は４３％、「改正しない方がよい」は４２％だった。
昨年３月調査では改正賛成（５２％）が改正反対（３６％）を大きく上回っていたが、今回は賛否が拮抗(きっこう)した。一方、国会が憲法改正論議に取り組むべきだという回答は７割を超えた。
改正論が減少した背景には、「護憲」を掲げる社民党が参加する鳩山内閣での憲法論議の停滞や、景気対策、米軍普天間飛行場移設など喫緊の課題が山積していることがあると見られる。
改正賛成派は、民主支持層で４２％（昨年５３％）、自民支持層でも４１％（同５４％）にとどまり、ともに反対派を下回った。
戦争放棄などを定めた憲法９条についても、「解釈や運用で対応するのは限界なので改正する」が３２％（昨年３８％）に減少し、「これまで通り解釈や運用で対応する」４４％（同３３％）が上回った。
憲法改正の手続きを定めた国民投票法は５月に施行される。国会での憲法改正論議に関しては、「憲法改正の原案の提出にはこだわらず議論をすべきだ」４０％、「憲法改正の原案の提出を目指して議論をすべきだ」３４％で、議論を望む人は合わせて７４％に達した。
ただ、今後の国会で憲法論議が「進まない」との答えは６４％に上り、「進む」は２７％だった。「進まない」と思う理由（複数回答）では、「連立与党内で憲法問題に対する意見の違いがある」７２％が最も多かった。
（2010年4月9日08時03分 読売新聞）
憲法改正「賛成」減少４３％、「反対」と拮抗
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/20080116-907457/news/20100409-OYT1T00167.htm
読売新聞社が３月２７、２８の両日に実施した憲法に関する全国世論調査（面接方式）によると、憲法を「改正する方がよい」とする人は４３％、「改正しない方がよい」は４２％だった。
昨年３月調査では改正賛成（５２％）が改正反対（３６％）を大きく上回っていたが、今回は賛否が拮抗(きっこう)した。一方、国会が憲法改正論議に取り組むべきだという回答は７割を超えた。
改正論が減少した背景には、「護憲」を掲げる社民党が参加する鳩山内閣での憲法論議の停滞や、景気対策、米軍普天間飛行場移設など喫緊の課題が山積していることがあると見られる。
改正賛成派は、民主支持層で４２％（昨年５３％）、自民支持層でも４１％（同５４％）にとどまり、ともに反対派を下回った。
戦争放棄などを定めた憲法９条についても、「解釈や運用で対応するのは限界なので改正する」が３２％（昨年３８％）に減少し、「これまで通り解釈や運用で対応する」４４％（同３３％）が上回った。
憲法改正の手続きを定めた国民投票法は５月に施行される。国会での憲法改正論議に関しては、「憲法改正の原案の提出にはこだわらず議論をすべきだ」４０％、「憲法改正の原案の提出を目指して議論をすべきだ」３４％で、議論を望む人は合わせて７４％に達した。
ただ、今後の国会で憲法論議が「進まない」との答えは６４％に上り、「進む」は２７％だった。「進まない」と思う理由（複数回答）では、「連立与党内で憲法問題に対する意見の違いがある」７２％が最も多かった。
（2010年4月9日08時03分 読売新聞）
4.09.2010
U.N. chief to visit Hiroshima on Aug. 6
U.N. chief to visit Hiroshima on Aug. 6
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=495067
NEW YORK, April 9 KYODO
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has decided to visit Hiroshima on Aug. 6 as the Japanese city marks the 65th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing, according to a senior U.N. official.
The plan, expected to be formalized around July, would make Ban the first U.N. chief to attend an annual commemorative ceremony at the city's Peace Memorial Park.
At this year's memorial ceremony, Ban will pledge to continue striving to achieve U.S. President Barack Obama's stated goal of building a world without nuclear weapons, the U.N. official told Kyodo News on condition of anonymity.
Ban's visit to Hiroshima is expected to provide impetus for Obama to visit the world's first atom-bombed city in western Japan and Nagasaki, the other bombed city.
Asked about the possibility of his trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an interview with Kyodo News last December, Ban said he had received an invitation from the mayors of both cities, adding his attendance at a memorial ceremony would be ''quite an important occasion.''
The U.N. official said Ban is expected to also visit Tokyo during his August trip to Japan but will not travel to Nagasaki due to a tight schedule. Ban is expected to stay in Japan for two or three days.
Ban has already informed the Japanese government of his plan to visit Japan and arrangements for the trip will begin soon, the U.N. official said.
If their schedules allow, Ban is eager to meet Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during his stay in Japan.
On Aug. 6 last year, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, president of the U.N. General Assembly and a Roman Catholic priest, attended the Hiroshima memorial ceremony.
Global efforts for nuclear disarmament have gathered momentum after U.S. President Obama appealed for a world without nuclear weapons in a speech in Prague in April last year.
''The United States has a moral responsibility to act'' as the only nuclear power to have used nuclear weapons and the country will ''take concrete steps toward a world without nuclear weapons,'' Obama said.
Meeting with the Hiroshima mayor in Washington in January this year, Obama expressed willingness to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki without referring to the timing of his possible visit.
But it is uncertain whether he can do so at an early date, as such a visit would be likely to attract criticism in the United States, where many people believe the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary to bring World War II to an end.
==Kyodo
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=495067
NEW YORK, April 9 KYODO
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has decided to visit Hiroshima on Aug. 6 as the Japanese city marks the 65th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing, according to a senior U.N. official.
The plan, expected to be formalized around July, would make Ban the first U.N. chief to attend an annual commemorative ceremony at the city's Peace Memorial Park.
At this year's memorial ceremony, Ban will pledge to continue striving to achieve U.S. President Barack Obama's stated goal of building a world without nuclear weapons, the U.N. official told Kyodo News on condition of anonymity.
Ban's visit to Hiroshima is expected to provide impetus for Obama to visit the world's first atom-bombed city in western Japan and Nagasaki, the other bombed city.
Asked about the possibility of his trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an interview with Kyodo News last December, Ban said he had received an invitation from the mayors of both cities, adding his attendance at a memorial ceremony would be ''quite an important occasion.''
The U.N. official said Ban is expected to also visit Tokyo during his August trip to Japan but will not travel to Nagasaki due to a tight schedule. Ban is expected to stay in Japan for two or three days.
Ban has already informed the Japanese government of his plan to visit Japan and arrangements for the trip will begin soon, the U.N. official said.
If their schedules allow, Ban is eager to meet Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during his stay in Japan.
On Aug. 6 last year, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, president of the U.N. General Assembly and a Roman Catholic priest, attended the Hiroshima memorial ceremony.
Global efforts for nuclear disarmament have gathered momentum after U.S. President Obama appealed for a world without nuclear weapons in a speech in Prague in April last year.
''The United States has a moral responsibility to act'' as the only nuclear power to have used nuclear weapons and the country will ''take concrete steps toward a world without nuclear weapons,'' Obama said.
Meeting with the Hiroshima mayor in Washington in January this year, Obama expressed willingness to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki without referring to the timing of his possible visit.
But it is uncertain whether he can do so at an early date, as such a visit would be likely to attract criticism in the United States, where many people believe the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary to bring World War II to an end.
==Kyodo
4.04.2010
Document Revealing Secret Meeting to Overturn the "Unconstitutional" Ruling of US Military Bases in Japan １９５９年 在日米軍違憲判決を覆した日米密議
日本語は下方をご覧ください。
Did you know that back in 1959, US military bases in Japan were deemed unconstitutional at Tokyo District Court? Two days after the ruling, then US ambassador and Japan's Foreign Minister had a secret meeting and Tokyo appealed at the Supreme Court, which overturned the district court's decision. That was right before the 1960 renewal of AMPO, Japan-US Security Treaty. In the 50th anniversary of AMPO, government is only talking about "deepening" of the bilateral military alliance. We citizens need to go back to the 1959 ruling and question the constitutionality of the US bases before we celebrate this Treaty based on such a deceitful political intervention with court by the two governments.
Documents confirm 1959 Japan-U.S. secret meeting over court case
Mainichi Newspaper on April 3, 2010
In a drastic turnaround, the Foreign Ministry has acknowledged the existence of documents on a secret meeting between Japan and the United States following a 1959 court decision that ruled the U.S. military's presence in Japan unconstitutional.
The ministry disclosed the documents to one of the former defendants in the so-called Sunagawa Case, in which anti-base demonstrators accused of trespassing on a U.S. military base in western Tokyo were acquitted after a court ruled the base unconstitutional. The decision was later overturned by the Supreme Court and the defendants convicted.
Shortly after the initial ruling, the then U.S. ambassador to Japan met with the Japanese foreign minister and the Supreme Court chief justice, but the Foreign Ministry had denied there were any documents left regarding the meetings.
The latest revelation underscores the ministry's reluctance to comply with the principle of information disclosure, following a recent finding that the ministry may have discarded some of the important documents related to secret pacts made between Japan and the United States during the Cold War.
The documents related to the secret bilateral meeting over the Sunagawa Case were disclosed on Friday evening to Shigeru Sakata, 80, a resident of Kawasaki, who along with 40 supporters had filed a request for their disclosure following the change of regime in September last year.
"We need to scrutinize the content (of the documents), but it's a step forward," said Sakata.
Sakata is among the former defendants accused of trespassing on a U.S. military base in Tachikawa, Tokyo, while they staged a protest against the base's expansion in July 1957. Out of the 23 demonstrators who were arrested in September the same year seven were indicted, but all were acquitted by the Tokyo District Court in March 1959 after the court ruled the U.S military's presence unconstitutional. However, prosecutors appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court decision in December 1959.
Since the Supreme Court decision came shortly before the January 1960 revision to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, suspicions were raised that Tokyo and Washington rushed to settle the case by annulling the lower court decision ahead of the bilateral security arrangement amendments.
In April 2008, it emerged through U.S. official documents that then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II met with Japanese Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama over the district court ruling and urged Tokyo to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The U.S. documents also revealed that MacArthur discussed the timetable of the appeals hearing with then Supreme Court chief justice Kotaro Tanaka.
Sakata and others filed a request for the disclosure of information over the issue in March last year, but the Justice Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Cabinet Office and the Supreme Court all replied by May last year that there were no documents regarding the meetings with the U.S. ambassador.
Following the change of government in September last year, the petitioners once again filed a request for information disclosure in October, after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada ordered a survey into Japan-U.S. secret pacts on the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan and other issues. Although the Justice Ministry, the Cabinet Office and the Supreme Court insisted on nondisclosure in November, the Foreign Ministry pledged to "continue to investigate the case" while saying they "could not identify the documents at this moment" in its reply on Dec. 25.
The documents that were disclosed to Sakata on Friday evening came in 34 pages, handwritten and sealed as "confidential," and are titled "minutes from a meeting between Minister Fujiyama and the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo." The meeting took place in April 1959, only two days after the Tokyo District Court ruling. Lawyers and others from a group supporting Sakata will analyze the details of the documents.
Gentaro Tsuchiya, 75, a resident of Shizuoka and another former defendant of the Sunagawa Case, said: "Due to the heightened public attention on the bilateral secret pacts issue, the Foreign Ministry may have had no choice but to give serious consideration (to the disclosure of the documents)."
砂川事件判決：日米密談の文書存在 外務省が一転開示
毎日新聞 ２０１０年４月３日
東京都立川市にあった米軍立川基地を巡り、米軍駐留を違憲とした５９年の「伊達判決」直後に、当時の駐日米大使が日本側の外相や最高裁長官に面会していた問題で、外務省が「関連文書不存在」としていた従来の姿勢を翻し、文書の存在を認めたことが分かった。政権交代を受けて、文書を開示するよう再請求していた元被告側に２日夕開示した。一連の「密約問題」同様に、情報公開の趣旨を逸脱するこれまでの外務省の姿勢が明らかになった。【野口由紀】
開示を求めていたのは、同基地への立ち入りを問われた「砂川事件」の元被告、坂田茂さん（８０）＝川崎市中原区＝と支援者ら計４０人。
同事件の１審「伊達判決」を巡り、当時のマッカーサー駐日米大使が藤山愛一郎外相と会い、控訴を経ずに上告する「跳躍上告」を勧めていたことや、大使と田中耕太郎最高裁長官が上告審の時期の見通しについて密談していたことが０８年４月、米側公文書で判明。元被告らが、０９年３月に情報公開請求したが、法務省、外務省、内閣府、最高裁の４機関は同年５月までに、大使との会議記録などに関し「不存在」と通知していた。
今回、一転して外務省が公開したのは、伊達判決２日後の５９年４月の「藤山大臣在京米大使会談録」。「極秘」との印が押された手書き文書で計３４ページある。今後、支援組織の弁護士らが読解を進める。
公開の再請求は、昨年９月の政権交代で、岡田克也外相が一連の日米密約の調査を指示したことを受け、１０月に行った。外務省以外の３機関は１１月、以前と同じ理由で不開示としたが、外務省は１２月２５日、「現時点までに、該当文書を特定することができなかった」として、不開示を通知したものの、「最終決定ではなく、引き続き調査を行う」としていた。
坂田さんは「内容をよく見ないと分からないが、一歩前進だ」と喜び、同じく元被告の静岡市葵区、土屋源太郎さん（７５）は「密約問題への世論が高まり、外務省としても真剣に考えざるを得なかったのだと思う」と話している。
【ことば】砂川事件
１９５７（昭和３２）年７月、米軍立川基地拡張に反対するデモ隊の一部が基地に立ち入り、同年９月に２３人が日米安保条約に基づく刑事特別法違反容疑で逮捕され、うち７人が起訴された。５９年３月、東京地裁は米軍駐留は違憲として７人に無罪を言い渡した。伊達秋雄裁判長の名前から伊達判決と呼ばれる。検察側が跳躍上告し、最高裁が５９年１２月に１審を破棄。当時は日米安保条約の改定を６０年１月に控え、日米両政府とも米軍基地の存在を違憲とする伊達判決を修正することが急務だったとみられる。
◆砂川事件をめぐる経過◆
１９５７年７月 米軍立川基地にデモ隊が立ち入る
９月 ２３人が刑事特別法違反容疑で逮捕。後に７人が同罪で起訴
５９年３月 東京地裁が「米軍駐留は違憲」として７人に無罪判決（伊達判決）
４月 検察側が最高裁に跳躍上告
１２月 最高裁、１審を破棄、差し戻しを命じる
６０年１月 日米安保条約改定
６１年３月 東京地裁、７人に罰金２０００円の判決
６３年１２月 最高裁、上告棄却を決定。有罪確定
２００８年４月 ５９年の最高裁判決の前に駐日米大使と最高裁長官が密談していたことが米側公文書で判明
０９年３月 元被告らが日本側の記録開示を４機関に請求。５月までに「文書不存在」として不開示
１０月 元被告らが再度、４機関に開示請求
１１月 内閣府など３機関が同様理由で不開示
１０年３月 外務省が開示と通知
Did you know that back in 1959, US military bases in Japan were deemed unconstitutional at Tokyo District Court? Two days after the ruling, then US ambassador and Japan's Foreign Minister had a secret meeting and Tokyo appealed at the Supreme Court, which overturned the district court's decision. That was right before the 1960 renewal of AMPO, Japan-US Security Treaty. In the 50th anniversary of AMPO, government is only talking about "deepening" of the bilateral military alliance. We citizens need to go back to the 1959 ruling and question the constitutionality of the US bases before we celebrate this Treaty based on such a deceitful political intervention with court by the two governments.
Documents confirm 1959 Japan-U.S. secret meeting over court case
Mainichi Newspaper on April 3, 2010
In a drastic turnaround, the Foreign Ministry has acknowledged the existence of documents on a secret meeting between Japan and the United States following a 1959 court decision that ruled the U.S. military's presence in Japan unconstitutional.
The ministry disclosed the documents to one of the former defendants in the so-called Sunagawa Case, in which anti-base demonstrators accused of trespassing on a U.S. military base in western Tokyo were acquitted after a court ruled the base unconstitutional. The decision was later overturned by the Supreme Court and the defendants convicted.
Shortly after the initial ruling, the then U.S. ambassador to Japan met with the Japanese foreign minister and the Supreme Court chief justice, but the Foreign Ministry had denied there were any documents left regarding the meetings.
The latest revelation underscores the ministry's reluctance to comply with the principle of information disclosure, following a recent finding that the ministry may have discarded some of the important documents related to secret pacts made between Japan and the United States during the Cold War.
The documents related to the secret bilateral meeting over the Sunagawa Case were disclosed on Friday evening to Shigeru Sakata, 80, a resident of Kawasaki, who along with 40 supporters had filed a request for their disclosure following the change of regime in September last year.
"We need to scrutinize the content (of the documents), but it's a step forward," said Sakata.
Sakata is among the former defendants accused of trespassing on a U.S. military base in Tachikawa, Tokyo, while they staged a protest against the base's expansion in July 1957. Out of the 23 demonstrators who were arrested in September the same year seven were indicted, but all were acquitted by the Tokyo District Court in March 1959 after the court ruled the U.S military's presence unconstitutional. However, prosecutors appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court decision in December 1959.
Since the Supreme Court decision came shortly before the January 1960 revision to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, suspicions were raised that Tokyo and Washington rushed to settle the case by annulling the lower court decision ahead of the bilateral security arrangement amendments.
In April 2008, it emerged through U.S. official documents that then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II met with Japanese Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama over the district court ruling and urged Tokyo to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The U.S. documents also revealed that MacArthur discussed the timetable of the appeals hearing with then Supreme Court chief justice Kotaro Tanaka.
Sakata and others filed a request for the disclosure of information over the issue in March last year, but the Justice Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Cabinet Office and the Supreme Court all replied by May last year that there were no documents regarding the meetings with the U.S. ambassador.
Following the change of government in September last year, the petitioners once again filed a request for information disclosure in October, after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada ordered a survey into Japan-U.S. secret pacts on the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan and other issues. Although the Justice Ministry, the Cabinet Office and the Supreme Court insisted on nondisclosure in November, the Foreign Ministry pledged to "continue to investigate the case" while saying they "could not identify the documents at this moment" in its reply on Dec. 25.
The documents that were disclosed to Sakata on Friday evening came in 34 pages, handwritten and sealed as "confidential," and are titled "minutes from a meeting between Minister Fujiyama and the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo." The meeting took place in April 1959, only two days after the Tokyo District Court ruling. Lawyers and others from a group supporting Sakata will analyze the details of the documents.
Gentaro Tsuchiya, 75, a resident of Shizuoka and another former defendant of the Sunagawa Case, said: "Due to the heightened public attention on the bilateral secret pacts issue, the Foreign Ministry may have had no choice but to give serious consideration (to the disclosure of the documents)."
砂川事件判決：日米密談の文書存在 外務省が一転開示
毎日新聞 ２０１０年４月３日
東京都立川市にあった米軍立川基地を巡り、米軍駐留を違憲とした５９年の「伊達判決」直後に、当時の駐日米大使が日本側の外相や最高裁長官に面会していた問題で、外務省が「関連文書不存在」としていた従来の姿勢を翻し、文書の存在を認めたことが分かった。政権交代を受けて、文書を開示するよう再請求していた元被告側に２日夕開示した。一連の「密約問題」同様に、情報公開の趣旨を逸脱するこれまでの外務省の姿勢が明らかになった。【野口由紀】
開示を求めていたのは、同基地への立ち入りを問われた「砂川事件」の元被告、坂田茂さん（８０）＝川崎市中原区＝と支援者ら計４０人。
同事件の１審「伊達判決」を巡り、当時のマッカーサー駐日米大使が藤山愛一郎外相と会い、控訴を経ずに上告する「跳躍上告」を勧めていたことや、大使と田中耕太郎最高裁長官が上告審の時期の見通しについて密談していたことが０８年４月、米側公文書で判明。元被告らが、０９年３月に情報公開請求したが、法務省、外務省、内閣府、最高裁の４機関は同年５月までに、大使との会議記録などに関し「不存在」と通知していた。
今回、一転して外務省が公開したのは、伊達判決２日後の５９年４月の「藤山大臣在京米大使会談録」。「極秘」との印が押された手書き文書で計３４ページある。今後、支援組織の弁護士らが読解を進める。
公開の再請求は、昨年９月の政権交代で、岡田克也外相が一連の日米密約の調査を指示したことを受け、１０月に行った。外務省以外の３機関は１１月、以前と同じ理由で不開示としたが、外務省は１２月２５日、「現時点までに、該当文書を特定することができなかった」として、不開示を通知したものの、「最終決定ではなく、引き続き調査を行う」としていた。
坂田さんは「内容をよく見ないと分からないが、一歩前進だ」と喜び、同じく元被告の静岡市葵区、土屋源太郎さん（７５）は「密約問題への世論が高まり、外務省としても真剣に考えざるを得なかったのだと思う」と話している。
【ことば】砂川事件
１９５７（昭和３２）年７月、米軍立川基地拡張に反対するデモ隊の一部が基地に立ち入り、同年９月に２３人が日米安保条約に基づく刑事特別法違反容疑で逮捕され、うち７人が起訴された。５９年３月、東京地裁は米軍駐留は違憲として７人に無罪を言い渡した。伊達秋雄裁判長の名前から伊達判決と呼ばれる。検察側が跳躍上告し、最高裁が５９年１２月に１審を破棄。当時は日米安保条約の改定を６０年１月に控え、日米両政府とも米軍基地の存在を違憲とする伊達判決を修正することが急務だったとみられる。
◆砂川事件をめぐる経過◆
１９５７年７月 米軍立川基地にデモ隊が立ち入る
９月 ２３人が刑事特別法違反容疑で逮捕。後に７人が同罪で起訴
５９年３月 東京地裁が「米軍駐留は違憲」として７人に無罪判決（伊達判決）
４月 検察側が最高裁に跳躍上告
１２月 最高裁、１審を破棄、差し戻しを命じる
６０年１月 日米安保条約改定
６１年３月 東京地裁、７人に罰金２０００円の判決
６３年１２月 最高裁、上告棄却を決定。有罪確定
２００８年４月 ５９年の最高裁判決の前に駐日米大使と最高裁長官が密談していたことが米側公文書で判明
０９年３月 元被告らが日本側の記録開示を４機関に請求。５月までに「文書不存在」として不開示
１０月 元被告らが再度、４機関に開示請求
１１月 内閣府など３機関が同様理由で不開示
１０年３月 外務省が開示と通知
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)