Original source: Akahata (Japan)

About 13,000 women at the 56th Japan Mothers’ Congress held in Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture on August 29-30 discussed ways to ensure peace and a sound environment for all children.

A symposium entitled, “For a sustainable Earth ? Think about food, agriculture, and the environment the key factors of human life”, was held on the first day.

Representatives of Japan Agriculture Cooperative (JA) and an environment NGO as well as an expert in agriculture took part in the symposium as panelists.

Sugaya Takashi, executive director of JA Shin-Fukushima, one of JA’s chapters in Fukushima Prefecture, reported about their efforts to increase the number of farmers’ markets and to call on schools to join in a program in which children can experience rice farming and fruit cultivation.

Hirata Kimiko from the environment NGO, Kiko Network, spoke about climate change and Koizumi Takeo, professor emeritus of Tokyo University of Agriculture, stressed the need to increase Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate and the importance of the traditional Japanese diet.

On the second day, 41 workshops and a symposium were held at several locations in Fukushima City on various themes, including “50 years after revising the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty” and “Children’s right to education and to live without poverty”.

At a symposium on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Takada Kimiko, president of the New Japan Women’s Association (NJWA), said that the bilateral military treaty deeply affects Japanese people’s quality of life because under the treaty, the Japanese government always accepts any request made by the United States, such as the expansion of food imports, the liberalization of imports of agricultural products, and drastic increases in Japan’s military budget.

Kawata Tadaaki of the Japan Peace Committee said that Japan-U.S. relations should not be one based on the military but one based on peaceful and friendly exchanges. Regarding Japan-U.S. economic relations, Japan should change its attitude of subservience to the U.S. and aim for mutual development based on equality. Kawata called on participants to launch a movement to increase public support for abolishing the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

All heads of 59 cities, towns, and villages in Fukushima Prefecture supported the Congress. Sato Tsutomu, Kunimi Town mayor and Japanese Communist Party member, in the opening plenary of the Congress made a guest speech.