Signatures against terrorism and military retaliation being collected on the
Net

In Nagano Prefecture in central Japan, college students, young company employees, and lawyers are collecting signatures on the Internet in support of the appeal for "No terrorism! No military retaliation!" addressed to U.S. President George W. Bush and Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro.

They are members of the "Nagano Prefecture's Suwa District Network for Disseminating Constitution Article 9's Ideas to the World."

The signature collection started with a member's suggestion, and states: "The mass media are instigating the public to a war, but most of my colleagues say they don't want a war. I want all people in Nagano and other parts of Japan to know about this."

About 40 people a day visited their Web site to sign. "Our activity meets the increasing interest of people who have the same view on the issue as ours," they said.

The Network has collected 889 signatures and sent them to the Prime Minister's Office and the U.S. Embassy on September 25.

In Tokyo on September 30, some 500 young people took part in the second "Peace Walk" through Shibuya's main street, singing John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance," blowing soap bubbles, and showing placards to passers-by which said, "We don't want retaliation" and "Let's try to understand each other."

A young couple walking with their baby on a stroller said, "When our baby was born, we began to think about peace."

A female university student who is planning to go to a graduate school in the U.S. said, "In my class students were talking about Akahata's reports. I think Akahata is the best in writing about the terrorist attack issue. I hope that it continues to provide us with important information." (end)