‘Article 9 Association’ to hold its second national exchange meeting in November

   The “Article 9 Association” (A9A) on October 18 announced that it will hold its second national exchange meeting on November 24 in Tokyo.

   A9A Secretary General Komori Yoichi, a Tokyo University professor, at a press conference in the Diet Building said that since the first national exchange meeting held in June last year, 1,560 local and occupational A9A groups were newly formed across the country, increasing the total number of groups to 6,734.

   “In addition to sharing our experiences, we want to chart a direction for a full-fledged development of our activities that are deeply rooted in the public,” Komori said.

   The A9A has sent out a questionnaire to its member groups concerning their activities.

   Komori stressed that more A9A groups have been formed in smaller units in local communities, enabling them to continuously work to influence voters in their neighborhood.

   Komori reported on “Mizuhashi A9A,” a community-based group in Toyama Prefecture that got endorsement from 14 out of 24 local temples for producing flyers that reads, “People of faith oppose every form of killing.” After it recruited 280 supporters, exceeding its initial goal of 250, it printed and distributed to the community the A9A’s appeal with the supporters’ names attached.

- Akahata, October 19, 2007