Article on weekly Kaihoh, the paper of the JRCL

 

The collapse of the Hatoyama government

US, Japanese and South Korean rulers have put their armed forces on full combat readiness against North Korea (and China) based on the allegation that the South Korean patrol boat Cheonan was torpedoed and sunk by North Korean forces. In reaction to this, the Kim Jong Il government defiantly declared that North Korea would ‘meet an all-out war with an all-out war’. His government has placed the whole country on a war footing. Thus, the Korean Peninsula, and East Asia as a whole, is now in a tense situation, where the slightest provocation could have touched off a war. (The JRCL surmises that this sinking incident was engineered by US imperialists to restore the triangular military alliance between the US, Japan and South Korea, especially with the aim of forcing obedience upon the Hatoyama-led Japanese government, which had continued disobedience to the Obama administration.)
Hatoyama used this tension over the Korean Peninsula as a pretext for yielding to the pressures of US imperialist rulers, who are deepening their sense of crisis against the Hu Jintao-led Chinese government rapidly strengthening its nuclear military capabilities. He abandoned the election promise of the DPJ, which stated that the new government would relocate the dangerous US Marin base in Futenma ‘out of the country, or at least, of Okinawa Prefecture’. His government finally decided a relocation plan no different from the previous one based on the ‘Road Map to Realignment’, which was agreed in 2006 between the former LDP government and the Bush-led US administration.
Against this outrageous offensive by the Hatoyama government, we the JRCL fought with all our might. Together with our revolutionary, militant workers and students, we fought to create a surging tide of antiwar, anti-military alliance struggle.
Especially from May 14th to 16th, our militant workers and students, who rallied from not only Okinawa but also various regions of the mainland, fought for a militant upsurge of the ‘Peace March’ and the ‘Okinawa People’s Rally’ under the banner of struggle against the US-Japan military alliance. They fought in the forefront of a mass action to besiege the US Futenma base. We, the revolutionary left, called on every participant: Let us spread this anger of Okinawa all over the country! Develop it into a massive surge of struggle against the US-Japan military alliance!  This call gained vivid responses from local workers, students and residents, as well as other participants from various regions. Thus the whole island of Okinawa was shaken by a chorus of people yelling ‘No to the US-Japan Security Treaty’. Our militant workers and students fought to develop this struggle to stop a new US base construction and to remove the Futenma air station under the banner of struggle against the US-Japan Security Treaty, radically overcoming the official movement by degenerate leaderships just to beg the DPJ government ‘to fulfil its premise’. While fighting against the strengthening of the new US-Japan military alliance’, they also protested against the newly started nuclear arms race between the US and China-Russia. By creating surging waves of mass struggle, they fought to overthrow the reactionary Hatoyama government.
Under the pressure of mass struggles, Social Democratic Party Chairwoman Mizuho Fukushima announced her opposition to the government decision, saying ‘I cannot betray Okinawa’. As a result, she was removed by Hatoyama from her cabinet post (consumer affairs minister). Her party broke away from the coalition government and, at last, Hatoyama had to resign as Prime Minister. Thus, the DPJ-led coalition government collapsed in eight months after having attempted to impose — under the pressure from the Obama administration — a US favourable plan for a new Marine base construction upon people in Okinawa. The primary cause that led this reactionary government to the collapse was a growing struggle of masses in Okinawa and all over the country, which was supported by assiduous activities of our revolutionary, militant workers and students.
On June 8th, a new Cabinet started off with Naoto Kan as Prime Minister. This is just a change of faces by the DPJ leadership for its survival. We do not overlook the DPJ government escaping its crisis through a change of Prime Minister from Hatoyama to Kan!
The Kan-led government has declared an intention to construct a new base in Henoko, Okinawa, saying that the strong relationship with the US is a key to Japan’s foreign policy. This government is thus laying bare an intention to re-strengthen the triangular military alliance between the US, Japan and South Korea, especially to strengthen its pivot, the new US-Japan military alliance as an offensive and defensive alliance against China and Russia.
This is not all. Prime Minister Kan reiterates, ‘Achieve a strong economy, strong finances and strong social welfare all at the same time’. This is the declaration of his determination to carry out measures to support big business (including corporate tax reduction) in the name of ‘a strong economy’ and to promote ‘tax reform’ including a consumption tax increase, which levies heavier duties on the toiling masses.
In response to the resignation of Hatoyama and the start of Kan’s government, the Koga-led leadership of Rengo has announced its continued support of the DPJ government, saying ‘We do not spoil the possibility that was opened by the last year’s change of government.’ For this purpose, the Rengo leadership is oppressing struggles of trade unions against the new base construction in Okinawa.
As to the self-styled Japanese Communist Party, its central leaders are thoroughly immersed in a campaign to advertise it as ‘a party that can speak out in the face of the US or business leaders’ with the aim of collecting votes in the coming Upper House elections. They are doing this at the present moment, when US, Japanese and South Korean rulers are preparing for war and Kan’s new government is cooperating with the Obama administration in re-strengthening the triangular military alliance between the US, Japan and South Korea. On top of that, trapped in illusions about Obama, they are stressing the need to ask him to reform the US-Japan military alliance into a ‘NATO-like equal military alliance’ suitable for a ‘mutual relationship between sovereign states’
We the JRCL call on you, workers and students now fighting on. Now is the time to fight to develop the antiwar, anti-military alliance struggle ‘for removal of the Futenma air station and against the new base construction in Henoko’ in opposition to the official leaders, who have abandoned their objection against the US-Japan Security Treaty. Let us fight to create nationwide upsurge against the US-Japan military alliance. Advance this antiwar struggle in a unified form with a politico-economic struggle against the tax raise offensive. Never let the DPJ-led government tide over its crisis by changing masks.
We the JRCL are now resolved to strengthen this struggle in Japan in solidarity with the working people all over the world, who are fighting against the offensive by their governments and ruling classes to impose war and poverty.
(Excerpted from the JRCL weekly Kaihoh)