Tokyo – House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan passed a majority resolution on Monday condemning China's violations of human rights and religious freedom in Tibet and East Turkestan. The resolution expresses deep concern about the grave human rights situation in East Turkestan, Tibet, Southern Mongolia, Hong Kong and other regions.
Japanese lawmakers in the House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan passed a majority resolution condemning China's violations of human rights and religious freedom in Tibet and East Turkestan, Southern Mongolia, Hong Kong and other regions on the morning of December 5, 2022. And on the same day, bipartisan Japanese parliamentarians announced the formation of a parliamentary caucus to monitor human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party in East Turkestan, Tibet and Southern Mongolia.
Japanese legislators Keiji Furuya, Hiromi Mitusbayashi, Shimomura Hakubun, as well as about 50 parliamentarians and staff members, including prominent members of the ruling party, Sanae Takaichi, Minister of State for Economic Security, Yoshiko Sakurai, President of the Japan Institute of National Fundamentals, Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, the representative of the Tibet Office in Japan, and special guest speakers Dr Lobang Sangay, Harvard scholar and former Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dolkun Isa of the World Uyghur Congress, Professor Ohno Akira of Shizuoka University, and Daichin Olhunud of the Southern Mongolian Congress met in the conference hall of the Parliament of Japan on December 5, 2022 .
In the meeting, the bipartisan Japanese parliamentarians announced the formation of the parliamentary caucus to monitor human rights and religious freedom violations of the Chinese Communist Party in East Turkestan, Tibet and Southern Mongolia. Keiji Furuya and Hiromi Mitsuybayashi of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) were elected chair and secretary general of the caucus. In addition, Yoshiko Sakurai of the Japan Institute for National Foundations, a think tank, was appointed as an advisor to the caucus.
According to the report of the Office of Tibet, Japan, Lawmaker Keiji Furuya, Minister Takaichi Sanae, Shimomura Hakubun, and Think Tank Director Yoshiko Sakurai spoke on how international communities’ continued silence has emboldened China to commit atrocities on its people and the people of the occupied regions with impunity. They said the time has come for us to safeguard international norms and speak against Chinese hegemonic and aggressive provocations.
Shimomura Hakubun, Chairman of the Japan Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, welcomed the formation of the caucus and spoke on cultural genocide happening in Tibet and the peaceful approach adopted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to resolve the Sino-Tibet conflict.
Representative Tsewang Gyalpo Arya thanked the lawmakers for forming a caucus to investigate and act on human rights violations by China in the occupied regions of Tibet, Uyghur, and Southern Mongolia. In addition, he took the opportunity to thank the Members of the House of Councillors for passing a resolution to condemn human rights violations by China and urging the Japanese government to adopt a clear stance and policy on the matter.
Representative Arya informed the lawmakers about the “International Network of Parliamentarians on Tibet – INPaT,” revived during the 8th World Parliamentary Convention on Tibet (WPCT) in Washington, DC, in June this year. Japanese translation on the purpose of the INPaT was distributed with a request to the parliamentarians to join the Network.
Among the special speakers invited to speak on the issues were Dr. Lobang Sangay, Harvard Scholar and former Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA); Dolkun Isa of the World Uyghur Congress; Prof Ohno Akira of Shizuoka University; and Daichin Olhunud of the Southern Mongolia Congress. They spoke on the gross violation of human and religious freedom by the CCP in their home countries. They thanked the Japanese parliamentarians for supporting their struggle for freedom and justice.
Lawmaker Hiromi Mitusbayashi, who moderated the sessions, thanked the parliamentarians, speakers, staff, and the media for their support and participation in the meeting.
"Proud to have been a part of the official launch of Japan’s new parliamentary group to address China's human rights abuses in Tibet, East Turkestan and Southern Mongolia called the Parliamentary Coalition to Investigate and Take Action on Human Rights Violations by PRC. This is a milestone for human rights defenders around the world. I thank the Japanese Parliamentarians involved for this important initiative," said Dr Lobsang Sangay, the former President of CTA on his social media page.
