Skip to main content

ATTENTION: This site is no longer active but remains as an archive.

Iraq Veterans Against the War has become About Face: Veterans Against the War. About Face can be found at aboutfaceveterans.org

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Join IVAW

Donate to IVAW

  • About
    • Founding of IVAW
    • Mission, Values, and Vision
    • War in Afghanistan
    • Why We Are against the Wars
    • Resolutions
    • IVAW Timeline
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Committee
    • Staff
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • Operation Recovery
    • Winter Soldier
      • Breakdown of the Military
      • Civilian Testimony
      • Corporate Pillaging
      • Cost of War at Home
      • Crisis in Veterans Healthcare
      • Future of GI Resistance
      • Gender and Sexuality
      • Legacy of GI Resistance
      • Racism and War
      • Response to DoD
      • Rules of Engagement
      • Press Coverage
      • Press Releases
    • Right to Heal
  • Members
  • Resources
    • AWOL
    • Active Duty
    • Conscientious Objector
    • Depleted Uranium
    • History of Resistance
    • IRR Reactivation
    • Lariam
    • PTSD
    • Profiles of Resisters
    • Resources for Veterans
    • Stop Loss
    • Women's Resources
    • Mesothelioma
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Press
    • Speaker Request

Winter Soldier in Japan

published by Jose Vasquez on 11/09/10 1:43pm
Posted to: 
Staff

On October 5th to 12th, IVAW former Board Chair Geoff Millard and Executive Director Jose Vasquez participated in a nine-city Winter Soldier book tour, hosted by the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union (Co-op).

The tour covered the northeastern or Tohoku region of Honshu Island. The cities included Sendai, Yamagata, Fukushima, Akita, Morioka, Kitakami, Hirosaki, Chiba, and Urawa. Over 2,000 people attended these events and Winter Soldier books sold out at every stop. Attendees also donated a combined total of close to $10,000 to support IVAW's Iraq Reparations Fund and general operations. The book was translated by a global volunteer collective called Translators United for Peace (TUP) and distributed by Iwanami Shoten, a major publisher in Japan. At the beginning of the tour, Iwanami Shoten had already sold 6,300 copies of Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan in translation and was planning to print a sixth edition.  Japan has a vibrant peace movement that works on many areas including nuclear non-proliferation, depleted uranium, Iraq and Afghanistan solidarity, and anti-militarism to name a few. Two hot button issues right now are the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma in Okinawa, which has faced local opposition since its establishment after World War II. In addition to noise pollution and crashes during military operations, Okinawans have endured rapes, murders, and other violent crimes in their communities carried out by Marines stationed there. Another important fight is underway to preserve Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which states: "Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes. In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized." Conservatives in the Japanese Diet are trying to amend this article to establish an expanded role for the existing Self Defense Forces (SDF). Despite strong public opposition, the former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi deployed 600 Japanese troops from 2004 to 2006 as part of an Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group stationed in Samawah, Iraq. Currently, there is a movement building to start a formal investigation, similar to the British independent inquiry, into the decision to send these troops and what they did while they were deployed. IVAW has received another invitation to send a representative to meet with elected officials about opening this investigation.

We expressed interest in connecting with any Japanese troops who are against the war and exploring the idea of starting an international branch of IVAW. We also commited to translating parts of our website into Japanese so the movement there could follow our organizational progress. Members of TUP and other volunteers agreed to collaborate on this project.

To purchase a copy of Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan visit our online store.

You can also get a translated version on Amazon Japan.

IVAW Statement on Syria Strikes

April 12, 2017 Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) condemns in no uncertain terms the bombing of Sharyat airbase in Syria six days ago by Donald Trump’s administration. As veterans of the unending and expanding wars...

See You in May Chelsea

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) would like to extend our congratulations to Chelsea Manning, as we anxiously await her release from military prison on May 17, 2017.  We appreciate that President Obama chose to commute...
IVAW National's picture

IVAW Tells the Army Corps of Engineers: Stand Down at Standing Rock

Ashton Carter Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000 General Mark A. Milley Army Chief of Staff 200 Army Pentagon Washington, DC 20310-0200 Lieutenant General Todd T. Semonite...

Iraq Veterans Against the War #NoDAPL Statement of Solidarity

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) comes together in solidarity and resistance with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Oceti Sakowin (The Great Sioux Nation), and the thousands of water warriors defending their land and...
IVAW National's picture

Iraq Veterans Against the War Statement on Orlando Massacre

We grieve for those who lost their lives Sunday morning in a bigoted, hate-fueled attack in Orlando, Florida. People - mainly Latinx and Black people - were targeted and killed simply because they were members of the LGBTQ+...

Lakbay Lumad Solidarity Statement

As the members of the Lakbay Lumad delegation near the end of their time in the U.S., we stand in solidarity with the indigenous leaders from the Philippines here to expose U.S.-sponsored violence against their...

Pages

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • …
  • Next ›
  • Last »

Supporter Newsletter!

Donations

Make a single donation or become an IVAW sustainer by making your donation a recurring one. Please consider making your generous gift right now.
Donate Online Today!

Speaker Request

Please be advised that we get many speaker requests, but regret that we are sometimes unable to fill them.
Speaker Request

Joining IVAW

Iraq Veterans Against the War is open to Active Duty, National Guard and Reservists who have served since 09/11/2001.
Join IVAW

Navigation

  • About
  • Events
  • Campaigns
  • Committees
  • Chapters
  • Members
  • Resources
  • Contact