The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) opposed the establishment of a Reciprocal Access Agreement between Philippines and Japan which may be signed during the visit of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this week.

"We oppose the planned Philippines-Japan military access agreement which is another version of a “visiting forces agreement” that would allow Japanese troops to join military exercises in the Philippines, including those with the US," Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. said.

Reyes claimed that "the security agreement is part of the entire US network in the region, with Japan serving as a junior partner of the US and the Philippines playing a role as a vital cog of the US war machine in the region."

"We are being made to believe that all these military exercises are intended to protect us from China, when the reality is that these are all meant to advance US hegemony in the region," he said.

Reyes noted that "instead of another security arrangement for war preparations, Marcos should be pressing Japan on its apology and reparations for Filipino comfort women during World War 2".

"How can we in good conscience as a nation invite Japanese troops to the Philippines when Filipinos abused during the war have not received justice?", he said.

Reyes recalled that "in a 19-page decision issued last March 2023, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women found that the Philippines violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War by failing to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered."

"It is time for the Philippine government to stop relying on the promises of imperialist countries like the US and Japan in order to secure Philippine or territorial waters and exclusive economic zone," he said.

"The US has been involved in failure after failure in its interventionist actions, from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine and now Palestine. Why would we entrust our security to an interventionist power and its junior partner?," he added.

Reyes issued his statement days before Kishida's scheduled visit in the country on November 3 to 4, 2023.

Aside from his bilateral meeting with Marcos in the Malacanang Palace on Friday, Kishida is expected to board the BRP Teresa Magbanua in his visit at the South Harbor in Manila and deliver his policy speech at the House of Representative on Saturday. Robina Asido/DMS