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Kyoto, Japan

Representatives of organizations from six Asian countries and the U.S. have agreed to coordinate activities against the expanding Pentagon war that began in Afghanistan. The groups gathered in Kyoto, Japan, on Nov. 23-24 for the ninth assembly of the Campaign Coordinating Body of the Asia Wide Campaign Against U.S. and Japanese Aggression and Domination of Asia (AWC).

Besides the international representatives, many workers, students and other progressive activists from Japan participated. For the first time the AWC invited a representative from the U.S. to attend. Sarah Sloan represented the New York City-based International Action Center.

The IAC is an anti-war and social justice organization. Last September, when it became clear that the Bush administration was preparing a military response to Sept. 11, it helped to initiate the International Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) coalition.

Formation of an Asia-wide anti-imperialist front

The Asia Wide Campaign (AWC) was formed in 1992. It includes BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance) of the Philippines, Labor Rights Association of Taiwan, AWC South Korea Committee, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Mutual Assistance Fund of Indonesia, the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions and AWC Japan.

This regional network of anti-imperialist and pro-worker organizations was formed in response to the increased militarism of Japanese imperialism. In September 1992, the Japanese government dispatched its armed forces--known as the Self Defense Forces (SDFs)--for the first time since World War II.

Since then, the Campaign Coordinating Body of the AWC has held annual assemblies in each of its member countries. It has also helped to mobilize for struggles in the Philippines in November 1996 and Malaysia in November 1998 against the imperialist-dominated Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), as well as an international joint struggle against the richest imperialist countries, known as the G8, in Okinawa, Japan, in July of last year.

This year's assembly included detailed "country reports" on the economic situation for workers, effects of Sept. 11, and anti-war movement made by Ho Youngu, the First Vice President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Wong Lixia, the advisor of the Labor Rights Association from Taiwan; Teddy Casi?, the National Secretary General of BAYAN from the Philippines; Cipto from the Mutual Progress Foundation and Cultural Activists Network of Indonesia; Keshav Pandey, the Secretary of the Asian Students Association and a representative of the All Nepal National Free Students Union; and Sarah Sloan, the National Youth and Student Coordinator of the International Action Center and an organizer for International ANSWER.

Joint Action Program for 2002

Members adopted a "Joint Action Program" for the coming year. The number one point on the agenda is a campaign to "Stop the War and Work for Peace." This includes opposition to U.S. wars of aggression and protest of Japanese imperialism's participation in them.

Participants adopted the "Asia-Pacific People's Joint Declaration," which states in part, "We vehemently condemn the U.S. plot to further expand their war on any other country [after Afghanistan]. ... In the name of 'fighting terrorism,' the two countries [U.S. and Britain] are trying to justify their intention to destroy the Taliban regime by force and create a puppet regime that meets their interests over the Middle East and Central Asia. ... We peoples in Asia-Pacific must unite for global peace and bring together our largest voices in this declaration."

The declaration also accuses the U.S. and Britain of war crimes for the many civilians killed in the bombing of Afghanistan. It notes the aim of "dismantling anti-U.S. struggles in the region, including the Palestinian popular uprising," condemns the governments in Asia that have provided political and logistical support for the war, and demands the removal of all U.S. bases and military personnel from Asia.

The second point of the joint program calls for international anti-war united action, specifically for all member organizations of AWC to join international anti-war calls made by International ANSWER.

The action program also includes support for workers opposing neoliberalism; support for the independent and peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula, and opposition to imperialist interference; opposition to U.S. bases in South Korea, Okinawa and elsewhere; and struggle against international institutions and conferences such as those of the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, APEC and G8.

Dispatch of SDF

Following the conference, the AWC Japan sponsored a national tour of public forums, rallies and meetings for the international delegates.

The first, held on Nov. 25, coincided with the dispatch by the Japanese government of forces for so-called logistical support for the bombing of Afghanistan. In Fukuoka, the local AWC chapter held a public forum and then a march through downtown to the U.S. Consulate.

Following presentations by the international delegates from the CCB conference, students from Yamaguchi University and Yamaguchi Prefecture University reported on their anti-war activities on campus.

Osamu Chimura, Takaaki Abe and Kubota Akie reported that the overwhelming majority of students on their campus opposed both the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan and the presence of U.S. military bases in Asia. They have conducted a signature campaign and a sit-down strike against the war. These students are members of Anti-Invasion Asian Students Joint Action in Japan, a member of AWC Japan.

Thihiro Teranaka--a young representative of the 300,000 victims of nuclear weapons living in Japan--reported on her organization's opposition to war and its assistance to the many people disabled because they or their parents were victims of the atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. on Japan in 1945. Terenaka's parents were in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped.

Makoto Motomura, the Fukuoka chairperson of the National Union of General Workers--also a member organization of AWC Japan--spoke on the increasing firings and layoffs resulting from structural adjustment programs and reforms imposed by the current government of Junichiro Koizumi. Motomura reported that the situation of unemployment and homelessness is worsening in Japan.

Following his talk, five fired or laid-off workers gave reports, including one from an elderly persons' home, a truck driver, a telephone and an office worker. All are members of the National Union of General Workers, a radical alternative to the main pro-government national union.

There was also a talk on the need for solidarity with the struggle of Korean people living in Japan who face both institutionalized and social discrimination and racism.

Similar meetings and rallies followed in Shizuoka, Kyoto, Osaka City, Aichi, Okinawa, Kobe and finally Tokyo.

The Tokyo rally at the Japanese government office and the U.S. Embassy, followed by a public forum, marked the culmination of a year-long signature campaign against U.S. bases in Asia. It was also a protest against the U.S. war in Afghanistan and the involvement of Japanese imperialism.