9 public figures call for Article 9 defense

Deeply concerned about the current moves, mainly of the Liberal Democratic Party, toward adversely revising the Constitution , nine Japanese writers, scholars, and critics formed the "Article 9 Committee" to help increase popular movements to defend the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution (for the "Article 9 Committee" appeal, see separate item).

The nine public figures, including Japan P.E.N. Club President Inoue Hisashi, Nobel Prize writer Oe Kenzaburo, writer Oda Makoto, and critic Kato Shuichi, called a press conference held in Tokyo on June 10.

Kato said, "Many groups, large and small, are carrying out various activities concerning Article 9, but there are few horizontal ties. So we want to build a network with them."

Oe said, "I hope the Article 9 Committee will be a gathering place for people wishing to defend Article 9."

Oda said, "It has been proven that military forces cannot eliminate terrorism. Now is the time Article 9 of the Constitution comes into play."

Statement of the Article 9 Committee

The following is a translation by Japan Press Service of the Article 9 Committee's published on June 10 in Tokyo. (For related story, see separate item):

The Japanese Constitution is facing a major threat.

In World War II, weapons of mass destruction, including atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, left more than 50 million people dead. The world's citizens learned from this war that the use of force must not be an option to settle international disputes.

Accepting the great responsibility for its war of aggression, Japan established a Constitution with Article 9 providing that Japan renounces war and will not maintain war potential, and resolved to realize the desire for peace of the people of the world.

However, today, more than a half century after the enactment of the Constitution, moves attempting to "revise" the Constitution, in particular Article 9, are growing stronger than ever. The moves have the intended aim to turn Japan into a "war-fighting nation" in submission to the wishes of the United States. It is to this end that constitutional restrictions have been virtually removed through the overseas dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces as well as approval of the right of collective self-defense and the use of force. The Three Non-Nuclear Principles, the arms export ban, and other important measures are in peril of abolition. There are also moves to revise the Fundamental Law of Education with the aim of educating children as workers serving a "war-fighting nation". All this is intended to break away from the constitutional principle that all disputes must be settled by nonviolent means and to pave the way for a military-first country. We must not allow this change to transpire.

The U.S. attack on Iraq and the ensuing quagmire of occupation shows more clearly every day how impractical it is to try to resolve disputes by military force. First of all, the use of force only destroys the lives and well-being of the country's or region's people. No military intervention carried out since 1990 by the great powers in regional conflicts has been effective in resolving them. This is why there is an increasing effort in Southeast Asia and Europe to set up regional frameworks for resolving international disputes through diplomacy and negotiations.

At a time when the major issue facing us is the course the world should follow in the 21st century based on the lessons from the previous century, the importance of Article 9 as the foundation of the nation's diplomacy is clearer than ever. It is presumptuous to tout SDF dispatches as "international contributions" when they are not welcomed in the other country.

The need now is for Japan to stand firmly for Article 9 of the Constitution, develop friendship and cooperation with the peoples of Asia and the rest of the world, and change away from a foreign policy that gives the military alliance with the United States priority in order that Japan will become more independent in actually taking part in the making of world history. With Article 9, Japan can carry out a peaceful diplomacy and economic, cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation by respecting the other's position.

In order to join hands with citizens around the world wishing for peace, we want to let Article 9 stand out in the tumultuous world. The task is for every Japanese citizen to personally and willingly choose the Constitution and its Article 9 as their own way of life and practice it every day. This is the responsibility of the sovereign people for the country's future. Moving toward a peaceful Japan and world in the future, we call on everyone to unite to defend the Constitution and begin now to make every effort to stop the attempt to "revise the Constitution".(end)