No.1497 / Apr./ 27 / 2025　
　Japan heading towards a warring nation
---　Abandon the illusion of Article 9 of the Constitution and embark on a new path of struggle!

　Prime Minister Ishiba shouting about national crisis and national interests.
　He is calling for a constitutional amendment to remove Article 9, Section 2, and to establish a 'National Defense Army,' further military expansion, and concepts such as the 'integrated operational area' of the East and South China Seas and the Korean Peninsula.
　Don't allow Ishiba PM's imperialist politics, which dash due to the expansion of the battlefield!

　Union President Yoshino betrayed the workers.
---　She met with Prime Minister Ishiba as a representative of the labor union.

　The 8th Workers' Party Congress was held.
---　We confirmed that we will actively utilize SNS and the Internet.

　The Democratic Party for the People betrays workers and tries to align with the Liberal Democratic Party.

　The nonsense of Karatani Koji
---　He ignores labor and fetishizes 'exchange'.

No.1496 / Apr./ 13 / 2025　
　Trump, the US president, declared the tariff war.
---　Is he a naked king or a foolish one carried on a float?

　"Fellow Americans, today is 'Liberation Day'.
　April 2, 2025, will be eternally remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America regained its destiny, and the day we started to move to make America prosperous again" (April 3, Nikkei), Trump declared the war to the world.

　The Ishiba administration has established the Joint Operations Command of the Self-Defense Forces and is strengthening military power.

　The contradiction of the limited bond reduction plan by the Bank of Japan.
---　Is the trend of declining interest rates due to the holding of government bonds or due to the law of the temporal fall in the rate of profit?

　Trump's tariff hike hit the export industry hard, and there are negative forecasts for domestic production in Japan.

No.1495/ Mar./ 23 / 2025
　The judiciary defends the positions of TEPCO and the government.
---　We denounce the not guilty verdict in the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident!

　The Fukushima nuclear power plant operated by TEPCO experienced an accident due to the massive tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
　Two former executives of TEPCO were compelled to stand trial for criminal negligence resulting in death and injury.
　However, the Second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court decided to support the not guilty verdicts from the first and second trials, and the acquittal was finalized on March 11.
　The judiciary does not acknowledge the responsibility of TEPCO and the government about the accident and supports the return to nuclear power.

　Wages are not a share of profits.
---　Labor union leaders are fleeing from the wage struggle.

　The EU is becoming “independent” from the United States and confronts Russia with a “rearmament declaration.”

　Putin's "delay operation," aimed at Ukraine's surrender.

　Readers' Voices
---　Regarding the final sentence of the front page article of issue 1494 of “UMITSUBAME”.

No.1494/ Mar./ 9 / 2025
　What is the real cause of the soaring rice prices?
---　The answer lies in the preservation of small-scale agriculture and the continuation of the policy of reducing rice acreage.

　The rise in prices shows no signs of stopping.
　At its center, rice, the staple food, emerged.
　In January of this year, rice prices rose by 70% compared to the previous year, and in February, they surged by 78% (Consumer Price Index, Tokyo metropolitan area).
　The rate of increase in rice prices has "updated the past maximum for five consecutive months.
　"The government initially thought that since rice production was increasing ," would drop when the new rice comes out in autumn ," but their expectations were off the mark, and criticism poured in.

　The Japan Innovation Party supports the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.
---　The three parties have agreed on free tuition for high school.

　China will work with the Global South to counter the Trump administration!

　Trump's imperialist diplomacy broke down in resource development negotiations with Ukraine.

No.1493/ Feb./ 23 / 2025　
　Break the decline trend in real wages!
---　The wage increase struggle is not for the "economic recovery."

　Major corporate labor unions have simultaneously issued wage increase demands, marking the full-scale onset of the 2025 spring labor offensive.
　The union's wage increase targets are as follows: the overall wage increase rate, including base raises and regular raises, is over 5%, and over 6% for small and medium-sized enterprises.
　On the other hand, the wage increase target set by the National Spring Struggle Coalition, which includes the National Confederation or Trade Union and others, is over 10%.
　Will this really protect the lives of workers?

　The Japanese government requested to exclude contributions to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
---　 The government also protested the criticism of the Imperial Household Law recommended by the United Nations.

　Elections for the German parliament will be held on February 23
---　Germany shaken by immigration and the economy.

　The leaders of the United States and Russia have agreed to negotiate a "ceasefire" without Ukraine