 Women's 'Article 9 Association' formed "We want to spread the Article 9 movement among women to pass along peace to the next generation." Women in support of the Statement of the Article 9 Association on February 23 announced the inauguration of the women's "Article 9 Association". Ohara Joko, who is a speech coach for actors, said, "I have memories from the war. Article 9 is the very thing we need to prevent wars." Yoshitake Teruko, a critic and nonfiction writer, said, "As Article 9 is inextricably linked with Article 24 which calls for gender equality, we must pass Article 9 onto the next generation." Sakamoto Fukuko, a lawyer, said, "The themes of the 1975 International Year of Women were 'Equality, Development, and Peace'. I really feel through my work that we cannot achieve equality without peace." Those who founded the women's "Article 9 Association" sent many women the Statement of the Article 9 Association last year, and 678 women have expressed their support for the defend-Article 9 movement so far. The founders were: Ikeda Kayoko (translator), Ejiri Mihoko (trustee of YWCA Japan), Osanai Mieko (scriptwriter), Kobayashi Katsuyo (chef), Setouchi Jakucho (writer), Tsurumi Kazuko (professor emeritus of Sophia University), Yukawa Reiko (music critic), Watanabe Eriko (actress), and eight other public figures. The Statement of the Article 9 Association is a written appeal published last June by nine prominent figures, including Nobel Prize writer Oe Kenzaburo. The full text of the statement is as follows: The Statement of the Article 9 Association 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 used 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 turn away from a foreign policy that gives the military alliance with the United States priority so 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 part of 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) |