Takano and Japanese Lawmakers Discuss Joint Letter to Biden and Kishida on Taiwanese Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Mark Takano (CA-39), Vice Chair for Policy for the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), convened a virtual meeting with Japanese Representative Masaharu Nakagawa, Leader of Progressive Caucus Japan (PCJ) for a virtual press conference. They discussed a joint letter signed by members of both caucuses on Taiwanese security that was sent to U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The signatories wrote to “express our shared interest in avoiding a violent conflict in the Taiwan Strait, which would be contrary to the national security of both countries. A potential conflict would be disastrous, and we remain concerned that the possibility remains unacceptably high.”
Rep. Takano reiterated his support for the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental of $8.12 billion—which passed with the support of every House Democrat—while also calling for increased diplomatic efforts to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
This effort between CPC and PCJ members affirms the two caucuses’ commitment to working together in friendship and respect. The PCJ was established in 2020 following a meeting of Japanese legislators with members of the CPC, and has since grown to 40 national Diet members from multiple opposition parties across both houses of the Japanese Diet.
CPC signatories include U.S Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Greg Casar, Barbara Lee, Mark Takano, Jonathan L. Jackson, Summer L. Lee, Henry “Hank” Johnson, Jr., Delia C. Ramirez, Ro Khanna, Ayanna Pressley, Shri Thanedar, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Raúl M. Grijalva, Jamaal Bowman, André Carson, Donald S. Beyer, Jr., and Diana DeGette.
PCJ signatories include Members of the House of Representatives Masaharu Nakagawa, Shoichi Kondo, Seiji Osaka, Kazuhiko Shigetoku, Tomoko Abe, Shinji Oguma, Kentaro Genma, Tomohiro Yara, Yutaka Arai, Kunio Arakaki, Akiko Okamoto, Nobuhiro Koyama, Shu Sakurai, Takeshi Shina, Kaname Tajima, Hisashi Tokunaga, Takeshi Noma, Daiki Michishita, Hiroyuki Moriyama, Hajime Yatagawa, Issei Yamagishi, Makoto Yamazaki, Katsuhiko Yamada, Harumi Yoshida, Ryuichi Yoneyama as well as Members of the House of Councillors Eri Tokunaga, Michihiro Ishibashi, Mizuho Fukushima, Takashi Moriya, Noriko Ishigaki, Taiga Ishikawa, Yoichi Iha, Sakura Uchikoshi, Hideya Sugio, Tetsumi Takara, Shunichi Mizuoka, Motokeo Mizuno, and Takanori Yokosawa.
Read the full text of the letter here.
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