No. 1325 Controversial Comment of LDP’s Vice-President Aso
The recent member change by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of his Cabinet and the personnel relocation in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have been proven to be the premier’s plan to prepare for his reelection, scheduled in a year, as a leader of both in the state administration and party management. Its largest factor is seen in maintaining Mr. Aso Taro’s vice-presidency inside the party. He is former Prime Minister and his comments have provoked uproars many times.
DON’T ALLOW GOVERNMENT TO DECLARE TO WAGE A WAR!
Mr. Aso gave a lecture in Taiwan August 8 during his stay there and, reportedly he told:
‘Today it is the very moment when the nations, including Japan, Taiwan and the United States, should be ready to function as very powerful deterrence. That means resolve to fight in a war. I believe that sending a clear message to a counterpart is itself deterrence that we use defense capabilities to defend Taiwan.’
Mr. Aso represents the ruling LDP. Judging from the history since the 1972 diplomatic normalization between China and Japan, the former premier’s visit to Taiwan is deplorable.
Absurd remarks by high-ranking officials
Furthermore, according to the LDP’s Policy Coordinator, Suzuki Keisuke, who accompanied Mr. Aso to Taiwan, he told; ‘the speech was not a personal one, but an agreed statement reached by the LDP and the government’. This explanation sounds very dangerous.
It was not for the first time for Mr. Aso to deliver controversial words as many times before he has done the same. The recent utterance, however, relates to a possible war. He, knowing full well of the provoking factor against China, takes initiative to lead the opinions and mood in the Japanese society to involving in a war. In addition, it is 45th anniversary this year on August 12 of the conclusion of the Peace and Friendship Treaty between China and Japan in 1978. Mr. Aso’s remark was made just four days in advance.
Last year Premier Kishida visited Thailand where he had a meeting with President Xi Jinping to agree on cooperating to ‘build constructive and stable relationship’. But Mr. Aso’s speech breaks away not only ‘a spirit for peace and friendship’ but also ‘building stable relationship’.
Crisis of existence
Another contentious speech was made by Mr. Aso in July 2021 when he was Vice Premier and Minister of Treasury in the meeting held in Tokyo over the situation around the Taiwan Strait: he mentioned that ‘it is not unusual to say that Japan should face a crisis of existence, ‘following’ a certain serious event in the strait, if any. The US and Japan must commit in defending Taiwan together’. He referred to a possibility that a critical situation of existence should come when the government of Japan could execute the right of collective self-defense over the ‘Taiwan contingency’.
Mr. Aso has given lectures twice in which he insisted on ‘the crisis of existence’, on the premise to regard Taiwan as ‘an independent nation’ and as ‘a foreign country with which Japan has close relationship’. The New Socialist Party takes a position that the current national security framework (established by the war legislation in 2015) violates the Constitution and must be abolished. Judging from this ground, the Japanese government cannot be a country ruled by law, if it considers ‘an emergency around Taiwan’ as a crisis of existence of Japan.
A state’s declaration to wage a war against others
Today the Self Defense Forces of Japan hold military trainings on the public roads and begin building shelters in Okinawa Prefecture. The situations tell us warfare looming around in the neighborhood. The issue is not limited to residents on the South Western Islands of Japan from the Tanegashima to Yonaguni Islands, but Mr. Aso’s comment is a declaration of the government of Japan to stage a war against others to be imposed on the entire population of the country.
岸田文雄首相の内閣改造・自民党役員人事は、１年後の再選をにらんで内閣・党の骨格を維持した。その大きな柱は麻生太郎副総裁の留任だ。同氏は元首相、その妄言がしばしば物議をかもす。
麻生氏は８ 月８日、訪問先の台湾で講演し、「今ほど日本、台湾、米国をはじめとした国々に非常に強い抑止力を機能させる覚悟が求められている時代はない。戦う覚悟だ。台湾防衛のために防衛力を使うという明確な意思を相手に伝えることが抑止力になる」と述べたという。
麻生氏は自民党を代表する立場だが、元首相が台湾を訪問したことは１９７２年の日中国交正常化以来の歴史を考えると重大な事態だ。
政府を含む妄言
しかも、発言は同行した自民党の鈴木馨祐政調副会長（当時）が、「個人の発言ではなく、政府内を含め調整した結果」と明かしており、ゆゆしき大問題だ。
麻生氏の放言・妄言癖は今に始まったことではないが、ことは戦争に関わり、確信犯が中国を挑発し、世論を戦争国家へと誘導するものだ。しかも、１９７８年に日中平和友好条約が調印されて８月12日で45周年を迎えたが、麻生発言はその４日前だ。
首相は昨年11月、中国の習近平国家主席とタイで会談し、「建設的で安定的な関係構築」に向け協力することで一致したが、麻生妄言は「平和友好の精神」も「安定的な関係構築」もぶち壊す。
「存立危機事態」
麻生氏はまた、副総理兼財務相だった21年７月、東京都内での会合で台湾海峡情勢を巡って、「大きな問題が起き、日本にとって『次は』となれば、存立危機事態に関係してくると言ってもおかしくない。日米で一緒に台湾の防衛をやらないといけない」と述べた。「台湾有事」を集団的自衛権が行使できる「存立危機事態」につながる可能性に言及したのである。
麻生氏は、２つの講演で台湾を独立国とみなし、「密接な関係ある他国」という前提で存立危機事態を主張した。安全保障法制（戦争法制）は違憲で、廃止すべきだとする立場からしても、「台湾有事」を日本の存立危機事態と位置付けるのは法治国家として許されることではない。
「戦争国家宣言」
沖縄県内では自衛隊の公道訓練が実施され、シェルター建設が始まろうとしている。沖縄では、戦争が目の前に突き出されているが、種子島から与那国島の南西諸島の問題ではない。麻生妄言は、国民が突き付けられた「戦争国家宣言」だ。
英訳版↓
No. 1325 Controversial Comment of LDP’s Vice-President Aso
The recent member change by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of his Cabinet and the personnel relocation in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have been proven to be the premier’s plan to prepare for his reelection, scheduled in a year, as a leader of both in the state administration and party management. Its largest factor is seen in maintaining Mr. Aso Taro’s vice-presidency inside the party. He is former Prime Minister and his comments have provoked uproars many times.
DON’T ALLOW GOVERNMENT TO DECLARE TO WAGE A WAR!
Mr. Aso gave a lecture in Taiwan August 8 during his stay there and, reportedly he told:
‘Today it is the very moment when the nations, including Japan, Taiwan and the United States, should be ready to function as very powerful deterrence. That means resolve to fight in a war. I believe that sending a clear message to a counterpart is itself deterrence that we use defense capabilities to defend Taiwan.’
Mr. Aso represents the ruling LDP. Judging from the history since the 1972 diplomatic normalization between China and Japan, the former premier’s visit to Taiwan is deplorable.
Absurd remarks by high-ranking officials
Furthermore, according to the LDP’s Policy Coordinator, Suzuki Keisuke, who accompanied Mr. Aso to Taiwan, he told; ‘the speech was not a personal one, but an agreed statement reached by the LDP and the government’. This explanation sounds very dangerous.
It was not for the first time for Mr. Aso to deliver controversial words as many times before he has done the same. The recent utterance, however, relates to a possible war. He, knowing full well of the provoking factor against China, takes initiative to lead the opinions and mood in the Japanese society to involving in a war. In addition, it is 45th anniversary this year on August 12 of the conclusion of the Peace and Friendship Treaty between China and Japan in 1978. Mr. Aso’s remark was made just four days in advance.
Last year Premier Kishida visited Thailand where he had a meeting with President Xi Jinping to agree on cooperating to ‘build constructive and stable relationship’. But Mr. Aso’s speech breaks away not only ‘a spirit for peace and friendship’ but also ‘building stable relationship’.
Crisis of existence
Another contentious speech was made by Mr. Aso in July 2021 when he was Vice Premier and Minister of Treasury in the meeting held in Tokyo over the situation around the Taiwan Strait: he mentioned that ‘it is not unusual to say that Japan should face a crisis of existence, ‘following’ a certain serious event in the strait, if any. The US and Japan must commit in defending Taiwan together’. He referred to a possibility that a critical situation of existence should come when the government of Japan could execute the right of collective self-defense over the ‘Taiwan contingency’.
Mr. Aso has given lectures twice in which he insisted on ‘the crisis of existence’, on the premise to regard Taiwan as ‘an independent nation’ and as ‘a foreign country with which Japan has close relationship’. The New Socialist Party takes a position that the current national security framework (established by the war legislation in 2015) violates the Constitution and must be abolished. Judging from this ground, the Japanese government cannot be a country ruled by law, if it considers ‘an emergency around Taiwan’ as a crisis of existence of Japan.
A state’s declaration to wage a war against others
Today the Self Defense Forces of Japan hold military trainings on the public roads and begin building shelters in Okinawa Prefecture. The situations tell us warfare looming around in the neighborhood. The issue is not limited to residents on the South Western Islands of Japan from the Tanegashima to Yonaguni Islands, but Mr. Aso’s comment is a declaration of the government of Japan to stage a war against others to be imposed on the entire population of the country.
October 4, 2023