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Japanese Groups Protest Against SDF Bill, US-led Attacks on Afghanistan
Several hundred Japanese on Tuesday staged protest in front of Diet (parliament) and elsewhere in Tokyo against the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan as well as a bill allowing Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to provide logistic support for the ongoing military operation.
About 160 people, including lawmakers from opposition parties and women's organizations, held a protest gathering at the building for House of Councilors members.
"Japan is trying to provide rear-area support for that (military operation), and we need to prevent this," said Kyosen Ohashi, an upper house member from the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
Meanwhile, about 200 people staged protest in front of the building of upper house lawmakers.
In Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, the Japan Confederation of A- and H- Bomb Sufferers Organizations also conducted similar protest activities.
Earlier in the day, a House of Representatives panel passed the bill allowing Japan to dispatch the SDF overseas to provide logistic support for the ongoing U.S.-led military operation.
The bill is expected to pass the Lower House plenary session Thursday, and Japan's ruling coalition plans to enact the legislation as early as October 26 following its expected passage by the upper chamber of the Diet.
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