Japanese Government to Refrain From Unprincipled Concessions to North Korea on Nuclear and Abduction Issues
Posted On 2008年11月18日火曜日 at 時刻: 14:38 by RescueAbductees
League of Parliamentarians for Early Repatriation of Japanese Citizens Kidnapped by North Korea
We, the League of Parliamentarians for the Early Repatriation of Japanese Citizens Kidnapped by North Korea, have publicly warned since last year that the US-Japan alliance would be seriously jeopardized if the United States removes North Korea from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism before North Korea has made a “complete and correct” nuclear declaration and while there has been no progress on the abduction issue.
Last November, seven Diet members representing this League, headed by Chairman Takeo Hiranuma, along with representatives of both the Families of Abduction Victims and its supporting organization, visited Washington DC and conveyed this message to relevant officials of the U.S. Administration and the Congress. Since then we have noted mounting criticism in the Congress over the negotiating posture of the State Department and followed the legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May that would prohibit hasty delisting of North Korea from the Terrorism List.
Members of this league returned to Washington DC this year in early May, again accompanied by representatives of the Families of Abduction Victims and supporting organization, for additional meetings. At that time, Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill clearly remarked that the U.S. does not have information on where North Korea’s nuclear bombs are manufactured and that it is a problem.
North Korea continues to deny the existence of its enriched uranium program and nuclear proliferation to Syria and other countries while trivializing the debate on its plutonium development program into merely a question of the quantity of plutonium extracted. Defiantly, it has obscured critical information about its nuclear bomb manufacturing facilities and actual number of bombs. Moreover, North Korea steadfastly refuses to discuss the abduction issue, claiming it is already resolved.
North Korea’s intermediate nuclear missiles constitute a grave threat to Japan and the abduction of Japanese nationals is a flagrant violation of Japan’s sovereignty. Should the United States as an ally of Japan ever make an unprincipled concession either on the nuclear front or the abduction issue, Japan’s trust in the United States, which is the basis of the alliance, would be greatly shaken.
Therefore, we the League of Parliamentarians strongly urge both the Japanese and the U.S. Governments to adhere to the following:
1. The Japanese government should strengthen its diplomatic effort toward the United States so that the U.S. Government would not make any unprincipled concession on either the nuclear program declaration or the abduction issue. If the United States and North Korea ever reach an agreement with an insufficient nuclear declaration, the Japanese government should not recognize the agreement.
2. The United States’ government should not lift North Korea from the Terrorist List without a complete and correct declaration of its entire nuclear program and resolution of the abduction issue or it would amount to de facto acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear armament and its acts of abduction.
Adopted: May 27, 2008
HIRANUMA, Takeo（Independent）
Chairman
ABE, Shinzo（Liberal Democratic Party, LDP）
Senior Adviser
NAKAGAWA, Shoichi（LDP）
Acting Chairman
NAKAI, Hiroshi（Democratic Party of Japan, DPJ）
Acting Chairman
HARAGUCHI, Kazuhiro（DPJ）
Vice Chairman
YAMATANI, Eriko（LDP）
Vice Chairman
URUSHIBARA, Yoshio（New Komeito）
Vice Chairman
ETO, Seiichi（LDP）
Vice Chairman
NAKAGAWA, Yoshio（LDP）
Vice Chairman
NISHIMURA, Singo（Independent）
Director General
FURUYA, Keiji（LDP）
Secretary General
MATSUBARA, Jin（DPJ）
Acting Secretary General
* The League is made up of 203 members from both houses of Diet.
