Council member Setsuko Kawai, 86, who lost her mother and two younger brothers in a massive Tokyo air raid in March 1945, said, “No one thinks it’s enough, but we’ve lowered the hurdle to realise the passage of the legislation.”
However, the legislation was not introduced at the ordinary session of the Diet, the country’s parliament, in the first half of 2025, mainly because the ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to establish an internal consensus on the issue.
In the LDP’s leadership election in autumn, Sanae Takaichi, who won the race and became prime minister, responded to an open letter from the council, stating: “This is an issue that requires urgent measures. I’d like to have thorough discussions.”
Her response raised hopes. But there was no action on the issue during the latest Diet session, which closed on December 17, after electing Takaichi as prime minister and passing a supplementary budget.
Another council member, Teruko Anno, 86, from Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, who lost her lower left leg in an air raid in Kagoshima Prefecture at age 6, was seen addressing a rally on the last day of the extraordinary Diet session.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
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