The leader of the Japanese Communist Party says Japan should shift from pressure to dialogue in its effort to curb North Korea’s nuclear development progra
The leader of the Japanese Communist Party says Japan should shift from pressure to dialogue in its effort to curb North Korea’s nuclear development program.
JCP chief Kazuo Shii, in an interview Monday with The Japan Times, also slammed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s support for Washington’s policy on the North that “all options are on the table.”
Abe’s “pressure-first” approach toward Pyongyang is one of the key issues the prime minister has stressed in the campaign for next Sunday’s general election.
“In order to break through the current nuclear problems on the Korean Peninsula, it’s essential that Washington and Pyongyang talk directly,” Shii said.
Abe has said he wants his get-tough attitude endorsed by voters before embarking on a series of much-anticipated meetings with world leaders later this year, including a visit by U. S. President Donald Trump to Tokyo in November.
“Economic sanctions against the regime are necessary, but they alone wouldn’t resolve the problem,” Shii said. “They need to accompany an effort to open up dialogue.”
Shii likewise expressed concern that Abe’s publicly proclaimed support for the U. S. position that “all options are on the table ” — indicating military action — suggests Japan is ready to fight alongside the U.
