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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

In 52nd Mothers' Congress participants are resolved to defend peace

The 52nd Mothers' Congress on July 23 ended its 2-day sessions in Nagano City with 15,000 participants making a fresh resolve to work for peace.

The Nagano prefectural government and all municipalities in the prefecture gave support to this event.

On the first day, participants took part in 39 working sessions held at five different venues in Nagano City.

They exchanged opinions mainly on building a society in which they can raise children without anxieties: they listened to a woman hesitating to have a baby due to her long hours of work; hospital workers making efforts to stop the closing of the obstetrics department on the pretext of its low profitability; and flight attendants, who have children, struggling in court to obtain exemption from night shifts.

On the 2nd day, Sawachi Hisae, a writer and one of the founders of the "Article 9 Association," spoke at the plenary session. Participants reported on their activities in opposition to adverse revisions of the Fundamental Law of Education and Article 9 of the Constitution.

Young mothers from Ueda City in Nagano Prefecture spoke about their actions against the education bill that will force "patriotism, morality, and service for the country" onto the public. They formed a group, read over the Fundamental Law of Education, and sang songs using the law's preamble and clauses as lyrics in a peace parade.

A woman playing the part of an old woman talking about a tragic story in the last days of WWII said, "We must not repeat the same tragedy of war. Please, defend the peace Constitution and the Fundamental Law of Education!"

Participants from U.S. base-hosting communities one after another expressed their determination to oppose the U.S. military realignment plan that strengthens base functions.

The 1st Mothers' Congress was held in 1955, taking root in five women's appeal to the world for the abolition of atomic and hydrogen bombs in the wake of the U.S. H-bomb testing on Bikini Atoll in 1954.
- Akahata, July 23 & 24, 2006