Japanese media: US strike on Iran threatens the international order

Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shimbun recently published an editorial titled ‘US strike on Iran is an excessive act that threatens the international order’, condemning the military attack by the United States (US) and Israel as a violation of the United Nations Charter (UN Charter) and international law.

According to the editorial published on Monday, 2 March, US and Israeli forces bombarded Tehran, the Iranian capital, and several other cities, causing numerous civilian casualties and killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran then launched a retaliatory strike.

The newspaper criticised the US and Israel’s attack on Iran as an excessive action that disregards the UN Charter and international law. The leading article also stated that the US military action did not obtain authorization from Congress as required by the US Constitution.

Furthermore, the editorial outlined that the US and Iran continued negotiations on the nuclear issue in February. Oman’s foreign minister, who acted as mediator, expressed anger because the serious negotiations had been undermined once again.

The editorial said that the reaction was not surprising, adding that Washington’s approach of forcing others to choose between surrender or war as a form of gunboat diplomacy is far from being called diplomacy.

Although the Japanese government has so far refrained from commenting on US military action, the editorial said, Tokyo should cooperate with the UN and Middle Eastern countries to urge the US and Israel to immediately implement a ceasefire.