 Public figures associated with mass media found Article 9 Association Public figures associated with mass media has established their own Article 9 Association with the aim of monitoring media reporting concerning the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. About 390 media people attended the inauguration meeting on April 5 under the banner reading, "We use pens, microphones, and cameras to defend Article 9!" Poet Ooka Makoto, who for nearly 20 years wrote a poetry column for the front page of the daily Asahi Shimbun, read his poem, "It'll be too late for everything if war breaks out." Ishizaka Kei, a comic artist and commentator of TV shows, said, "I was unable to explain to my son why Japan supported the U.S. war against Iraq." James Miki, a scriptwriter of many popular dramas said, "We must let the Constitution guide us to a world free of wars." Tawara Yoshifumi, who is involved in a project of Japanese, South Korean, and Chinese history educators to make a history textbook that can be shared by the three countries, pointed out that advocates of constitutional revision are trying to implant the seeds of militarism in children at school. Komori Yoichi, secretary general of the Article 9 Association, jumped up in the meeting and requested journalists to use the media to reveal the harmful effects constitutional revision would bring. Comparing how commercial newspapers run articles on the Constitution, Katsura Keiichi, professor at Rissho University, pointed out that the daily Yomiuri Shimbun takes the lead in advocating constitutional revision while Asahi Shimbun wavers between pro-Constitution and pro-constitutional amendment advocates. (end) |