 Anti-war actions held on 63rd anniversary of start of Pacific War Various anti-war activities took place throughout Japan on December 8 to mark the 63rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Pacific War. Members of the Organizing Committee of the Japan Mothers' Congress carried out a nationwide signature drive in defense of the war-renouncing Article 9. They gave out a "red slip" (the call-up notice) to passers-by, reminding them that Article 9 prevents such notice from being distributed again. They also expressed their protest against the extension of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq. In front of Ikebukuro station in Tokyo, they joined together with members of the Central Action Committee against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and the Japan Peace Committee in collecting signatures demanding that the government immediately bring SDF troops home from Iraq. The Center for Joint Action against Adverse Revision of the Constitution held a forum on war and the Constitution in Tokyo. Referring to his war experiences, writer Oda Makoto said, "Japan's Constitution gives shape to democracy and pacifism as its basis." Hara Bunjiro, an Iraq researcher of the Japan Volunteer Center, reported on his activities in Iraq showing slides. He said, "Iraqi people respect Japan for choosing not to retaliate against the atomic bombings by the U.S. and establishing the constitutional principle of peace." (end) |