The Japan P.E.N. Club releases declaration signed by 1,500 Japanese authors asks government to, “Reconsider new base construction at Henoko”
June 22, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Tokyo – The Japan P.E.N Club (Shinobu Yoshioka, president), which is comprised of 1,500 Japanese authors, released a declaration titled, “On the day of Okinawa’s Irei no Hi, we demand that the government take back their words, and reconsider new base construction at Henoko.”
This is the first time that the Japan P.E.N Club has released a statement about the new base construction issue at Henoko in Nago. Based on the stance of the Japanese government, which has been stubbornly pushing through with construction against the wishes of the people of Okinawa, the declaration states, “The government in recent years, and in particular in the executive office, we are afraid that the importance of words, which is all the more important for the foundations of a democracy, is being lost,” and demanded that the government heed the will of the people of Okinawa and reconsider the new base construction.
The statement lists reasons such as “Prioritizing the military can lead to the calamity of war, are they even thinking of the mass killings and forced group suicides that occurred in Okinawa?” and “How long does the government plan to allow U.S. military aircraft to fly through the Okinawan air day and night, and race their cars through the streets as if they were their own?” The declaration also stated their misgivings, “The Japanese government as not once been up front in answering their citizens’ doubts.”
The writing also stated that the hardline stance the government has taken preluded World War 2, stressing, “We cannot repeat this part of our history.”
Timed alongside “Irei no Hi” (a day of remembrance for the dead) on June 23, the article restates their resolution as an organization, stating “There were many lives lost as victims in the Pacific War, and so as to not repeat this calamity again, we aspire to use the power of words and expression to the best of our ability for peace.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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