Regarding the June 8 wire service article "Abe holds talks with Pope Francis": Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is reported to have talked with Pope Francis about ways of promoting peace and stability in Asia. East Asia is riven with tensions over the large number of small islands claimed by China in the East and South China seas. As its requirements for oil increase, China seems aggressive enough to begin oil development of sea bottoms in the region. Japan should be tenacious in talking with China about developing resources together.
Brazil now shares offshore oil development with Japan's Itochu trading company. It is reported that Itochu remodeled an enormous tanker to purify, store and transport oil and has continued to cooperate with Brazil.
As for the Senkaku islets, Japan should reach out to China for collaboration in oil development. Talk with China is a must. Japan should take the initiative on this. Then Japan wouldn't need to depend on the U.S. Navy and a collective self-defense policy in response to contingencies.
I live in Hiroshima and serve as a guide at Hiroshima Peace Park throughout the year. Guests who visit Hiroshima don't agree with changing or bending Japan's pacifist Constitution "for defense." Commitments toward mutual cooperation on development would resolve the problem. China then would be encouraged to cooperate with Vietnam and others.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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