Words are mightier than swords: Theatrical people rally to oppose war on Iraq

About 700 theatrical people, firmly believing that words can be more powerful than swords, gathered together with citizens in a meeting in Tokyo on February 28 to oppose a possible war on Iraq and the contingency legislation.

The meeting was called for by 200 dramatists, including actress Otake Shinobu and Kabuki actor Nakamura Kankuro. The number of participants was larger than the hall's capacity of 400.

On the stage, the actors read aloud letters of bereaved families of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks earnestly calling for a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis instead of violence for the sake of violence.

The audience was deeply moved by the message that anything, even hatred, can be expressed in words, and that it is sheer folly to resort to war.

The meeting ended with a call to the world's theatrical people to persistently work to get the Iraq question solved without the use of force. (end)