Japanese opposition party leaders call for FM's resignation for nuke stand

Japanese opposition party leaders on Saturday criticized Foreign Minister Taro Aso for tolerating Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Policy Research Council Chairman Shoichi Nakagawa who recently repeated the call for a debate over the necessity of a nuclear buildup for Japan.

Kazuo Shii, Chief Commissioner of the Communist Party of Japan, said in Tokyo that Aso's tolerance of the call for a nuke debate has incurred criticism from inside and outside Japan, and if he does not take action to appease the criticism, the only way for him is to resign.

Mizuho Fukushima, Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party, told reporters in Sapporo that Aso's stand on the nuke issue destroyed Japan's continued efforts on the nuclear disarmaments and the elimination of nuclear weapons, and sent a wrong signal to the international society. She warned that her party could unite with other opposition parties on handing in a distrust case to the Diet if Aso refuses to resign.

Since the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced its nuclear test on Oct. 9., the LDP policy chief repeatedly proposed that Japan should talk about whether it should go nuclear to defend itself, and the hawkish foreign minister claimed that such a debate should be allowed.

Source: Xinhua