 Demonstration held in protest against referendum bill About 300 lawyers and workers marched in demonstration at lunchtime on April 6 in Tokyo in protest against the national referendum bill that the ruling parties are planning to submit to the Diet for the purpose of establishing a procedure to revise the Constitution. A high school freshman walked at the head of the demonstrators holding a banner reading, "We oppose the referendum bill that paves the way for constitutional revision." She said, "I studied the peace Constitution in junior high school. By taking part in protests against the Iraq war, I realized our Constitution should not be changed." Lawyer Sawafuji Toichiro, secretary-general of the Japan Democratic Lawyer's Association, called on the participants to take a first step toward blocking the referendum bill. In front of the Diet building, the demonstrators petitioned Dietmembers of the Japanese Communist and Social Democratic parties for rejection of the referendum bill. (end) |