Kyoto's religious leaders launch a call in defense of the Constitution

In Kyoto, leaders of various religions wishing for world peace have launched a call on all people of faith to take part in a movement to defend the Constitution, in particular its war-renouncing Article 9.

On July 9, 20 priests from Buddhist and Christian denominations, including the Abbot of Kiyomizu Temple, published an appeal at Nishi Hongwanji announcing that they support the "Article 9 Committee" recently established by nine public figures, including Nobel Prize writer Oe Kenzaburo.

Deeply concerned about the contingency-related laws, the deployment of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in Iraq, and the SDF participation in the multinational force, the Kyoto religious leaders warned that Japan is going against the pacifism embodied in the war-renouncing Constitution, and called for active cooperation in the campaign to collect signatures calling for the defense of the Constitution. The appeal will be sent to 6,000 religious bodies in Kyoto. (end)