Japan lawmaker faces resignation resolution over war remarks

May 17, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese opposition parties proposed Friday a resolution demanding the resignation of a House of Representatives lawmaker who recently referred to the possibility of Japan waging war for the return of four Russian-held islands.

The opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), aim for an early vote on the resolution, submitted to the Lower House.

The lawmaker, Hodaka Maruyama, was expelled from Nippon Ishin on Tuesday over the war gaffe he made during a trip to Kunashiri, one of the four northwestern Pacific islands.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party did not join the resolution, as it is cautious about taking a vote on it for the time being, citing the need for intraparty discussions.

The resolution was also joined by the Democratic Party for the People, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and a parliamentary group at the Lower House.

The islands, collectively known as the Northern Territories in Japan and as the Southern Kurils in Russia, were seized from Japan by former Soviet troops in the closing days of World War II. Jiji Press