June 18, 2014
In protest against the Abe government’s move to reinterpret the Japanese Constitution to enable Japan to use the right to collective self-defense, about 5,000 citizens rallied on June 17 at Hibiya Amphitheater in Tokyo.
This rally was held by an organizing committee composed of a wide range of civil groups such as labor unions and human rights organizations.
At the assembly, Ikeda Kayoko, a well-known translator, said in her speech as a guest speaker, “The pacifist Constitution lives in our hearts and minds. No matter how deliberately the administration distorts the constitutional interpretation, there is no room for authorizing the use of the right to collective self-defense.”
Izutsu Takao, a former member of the Ground Self-Defense Force, stated, “It’s a serious mistake for the government to turn Japan into a war-fighting nation with no regard to people’s voices.”
Suichi Keiko, a vice president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), noted that all the 52 local associations of the JFBA are against the administration’s aim.
The Japanese Communist Party’s 15 lawmakers, including party chair Shii Kazuo, also took part in the rally.
Shii pointed out in his address that the exercise of the collective self-defense right will ultimately entail mobilizing Japan’s young people for wars launched by the United States. Stressing that the Abe administration is trying to carry out a de facto “coup” to destroy the supreme law by forcibly endorsing a Cabinet decision to change the constitutional interpretation, he called on participants to further strengthen campaigns to thwart the move.
Following the mass meeting, protesters staged a demonstration parade to the Diet building.
Nakamura Shoji, a 21-year-old college student from Tokyo, said, “Allowing a constitutional reinterpretation is tantamount to abolishing the Constitution. We must do everything we can to foil this attempt.”
Past related article:
> Japan’s peace maintained by the Constitution, not by force: ex-defense official [May 25, 2014]
This rally was held by an organizing committee composed of a wide range of civil groups such as labor unions and human rights organizations.
At the assembly, Ikeda Kayoko, a well-known translator, said in her speech as a guest speaker, “The pacifist Constitution lives in our hearts and minds. No matter how deliberately the administration distorts the constitutional interpretation, there is no room for authorizing the use of the right to collective self-defense.”
Izutsu Takao, a former member of the Ground Self-Defense Force, stated, “It’s a serious mistake for the government to turn Japan into a war-fighting nation with no regard to people’s voices.”
Suichi Keiko, a vice president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), noted that all the 52 local associations of the JFBA are against the administration’s aim.
The Japanese Communist Party’s 15 lawmakers, including party chair Shii Kazuo, also took part in the rally.
Shii pointed out in his address that the exercise of the collective self-defense right will ultimately entail mobilizing Japan’s young people for wars launched by the United States. Stressing that the Abe administration is trying to carry out a de facto “coup” to destroy the supreme law by forcibly endorsing a Cabinet decision to change the constitutional interpretation, he called on participants to further strengthen campaigns to thwart the move.
Following the mass meeting, protesters staged a demonstration parade to the Diet building.
Nakamura Shoji, a 21-year-old college student from Tokyo, said, “Allowing a constitutional reinterpretation is tantamount to abolishing the Constitution. We must do everything we can to foil this attempt.”
Past related article:
> Japan’s peace maintained by the Constitution, not by force: ex-defense official [May 25, 2014]
