Japanese peace group urges immediate halt to ongoing Japan-US military drills

A Japanese peace group has urged an immediate halt to the ongoing Japan-U.S. joint military exercises, pressing the Japanese government to uphold the country's pacifist constitution and learn from historical lessons.

The Keen Sword 27 exercises, running from Oct. 19 to 29, cover multiple domains, including land, sea, air, space, the electromagnetic spectrum and cyberspace. They involve air defense, anti-ship operations, parachute drops, amphibious operations and electromagnetic warfare, with exercise areas spanning Okinawa, Kyushu and Hokkaido, among other locations.

Naoko Kawana, head of the Miyagi Prefecture Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, slammed the military drills as "absurd" and called for an immediate halt to them.

"I think such military exercises are completely absurd and should be stopped right away. We should truly act in accordance with the spirit of the pacifist constitution, and I sincerely hope current policies will be halted as soon as possible," said Naoko.

Japan's Type-25 surface-to-ship missile will take part in the exercises for the first time since its formal deployment in March this year. With a range of about 1,000 km, the missile is regarded as one of Japan's first missile systems capable of striking targets well beyond the country's territory.

Naoko called on the Japanese people to oppose the deployment of these missiles with unity.

"In reality, local residents have barely been given any adequate explanation as to whether these missiles are actually necessary. Everyone is angry at this aggressive push, and I believe we must unite to oppose these measures together," she said.

Against the backdrop of Japan's shifting security policies ranging from enhanced long-range strike capabilities to policy discussions touching upon nuclear weapons, Naoko urged Japan to learn from historical lessons and uphold the principle of peace.

"I believe that Japan indeed did many very cruel things to the Chinese people. However, some politicians have adopted various approaches to deny these historical facts, claiming that these things never happened. We believe that such an approach is wrong. I think that people who have not personally experienced war, and who therefore refuse to listen to the voices of those who lived through the past, are themselves wrong to do so. We must learn lessons from past history while also seriously thinking about the future," said Naoko.

Japanese peace group urges immediate halt to ongoing Japan-US military drills

All residents of the two hardest-hit villages in the earthquake-stricken Baqen County of Nagqu City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region have been properly resettled, with hot meals and heating available at their shelters.

At one resettlement site, more than 200 residents from a village in Maru Town have been housed.

The village that sits closest to the epicenter has seen many one- and two-story buildings suffering severe internal damages and becoming unsafe to live in.

A food supply point set up by the Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers has been providing fresh hot meals and drinking water to affected residents at the resettlement site since Friday.

Many restaurant owners from nearby towns also came to the site early Saturday morning to provide breakfast for the affected residents.

In addition, firefighters went deep into the disaster area on Saturday morning to search for and retrieve valuables for the villagers.

In another hardest-hit village, relocation and resettlement have also been fully completed, with meals, quilts and other heating supplies provided at their shelters.

Since the quake, more than 5,000 personnel have been deployed to the front lines of the disaster relief operation, working in teams for search and rescue, medical treatment, temporary shelter and essential supplies.

After three rounds of comprehensive door-to-door checks, no missing persons had been reported as of 18:00 Friday, according to the emergency command headquarters.

The quake was strong, shallow and widely felt. In the epicenter's core area, some houses collapsed and power and communication facilities were damaged.

Local authorities have launched round-the-clock monitoring and emergency repairs at key sites including mountains, reservoirs, power stations, river channels, dilapidated buildings and communication base stations.

Communication services in Baqen County have now returned to pre-quake levels.

According to a geological hazard risk assessment of the quake zone by the China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Sensing Center for Natural Resources, preliminary findings suggest a relatively low risk of large-scale collapses and landslides in the area.

Worst-hit villagers in Xizang earthquake properly resettled