Article 9 Association calls for pacifist Constitution to be fully respected

Japan Press Weekly

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Article 9 Association calls for pacifist Constitution to be fully respected

The Article 9 Association on June 19 held a symposium in Tokyo entitled, "50 years of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution" with 2,000 participants.

The event was organized to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the foundation of the Association and to abide by the wishes of Inoue Hisashi, a famous author and one of its nine founders, who died in April.

Three of the founders and Inoue's widow, Yuri Inoue, made speeches. Nobel Prize-winning author Oe Kenzaburo pointed out that the U.S. nuclear umbrella in Japan is a source of tension with China and other Asian countries. "What the Japanese government should do is to reduce the number of U.S. bases in Japan, including the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. Based on the Constitution, we need a fundamental change in the way Japan behaves in the international community and in its approaches to security," said Oe.

Referring to Inoue's last work featuring Kobayashi Takiji, the author of Kanikosen (The Factory Ship), author Sawachi Hisae cited Kobayashi's famous line: "Trust the many people following you and run ahead" and told the meeting that she is resolved to carry on Inoue's resolve.

In his message to the meeting, Philosopher Umehara Takeshi emphasized that the idea of Article 9 is in accordance with Japan's traditional thoughts and the Perpetual Peace of Immanuel Kant, saying, "The diversity of supporters of the Article 9 Association should be united based on their own beliefs and should continue to engage in activities to stop an adverse revision of the Constitution."

-Akahata June 20, 2010