July 11-14, 2015
As the ruling coalition is aiming to railroad the controversial security legislation through the Lower House, young people across the country are taking actions against this move.
On the evening of July 10, a group of university students called SEALs, staged a protest rally in front of the Diet building with 15,000 citizens taking part.
Kurita Ayana, a 21-year-old woman from Kimitsu City in Chiba Prefecture, said, “I hate war. I was reluctant to take action, but I’ve found that silence will accomplish nothing.” Masuda Toshio, 21, a vocational school student living in Chiba City, said, “If the security bills are enacted, it will further jeopardize the relationship between Japan and its neighbors, and thus harm Japan’s security.”
At the rally, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Koike Akira gave a speech in solidarity. Koike expressed his determination to do everything to scrap the bills, stating, “The power of young people united in opposition is now moving the Diet as well as the political parties.”
In Nagoya City, youth groups, including the Democratic Youth League of Japan, held a parade on July 11 calling for stopping the Abe administration from pushing forward with its outrageous policies. The number of demonstrators participating doubled to 300 while marching in the streets.
In Osaka, a youth organization called SADL organized a rally on July 12 in the downtown district, with about 600 people participating.
In Sapporo City, youngsters conducted a protest drive on July 13 outside the Hokkaido prefectural office building.
In that action, Inaba Chinatsu, a 20-year-old part-time worker, said, “Weapons cannot create peace. If the government has the money to engage in wars, it should spend the money to assist poor children and many people suffering from student loans.”
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The JCP learned that as of July 11, 265 local assemblies around the nation approved resolutions calling for the scrapping of the war legislation or at the very least to have careful Diet deliberation on the bills.
Meanwhile, the latest opinion polls by NHK, NNN, and the Asahi Shimbun all show that the disapproval rate for the Abe Cabinet has exceeded the approval rate for the first time.
On the evening of July 10, a group of university students called SEALs, staged a protest rally in front of the Diet building with 15,000 citizens taking part.
Kurita Ayana, a 21-year-old woman from Kimitsu City in Chiba Prefecture, said, “I hate war. I was reluctant to take action, but I’ve found that silence will accomplish nothing.” Masuda Toshio, 21, a vocational school student living in Chiba City, said, “If the security bills are enacted, it will further jeopardize the relationship between Japan and its neighbors, and thus harm Japan’s security.”
At the rally, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Koike Akira gave a speech in solidarity. Koike expressed his determination to do everything to scrap the bills, stating, “The power of young people united in opposition is now moving the Diet as well as the political parties.”
In Nagoya City, youth groups, including the Democratic Youth League of Japan, held a parade on July 11 calling for stopping the Abe administration from pushing forward with its outrageous policies. The number of demonstrators participating doubled to 300 while marching in the streets.
In Osaka, a youth organization called SADL organized a rally on July 12 in the downtown district, with about 600 people participating.
In Sapporo City, youngsters conducted a protest drive on July 13 outside the Hokkaido prefectural office building.
In that action, Inaba Chinatsu, a 20-year-old part-time worker, said, “Weapons cannot create peace. If the government has the money to engage in wars, it should spend the money to assist poor children and many people suffering from student loans.”
*****
The JCP learned that as of July 11, 265 local assemblies around the nation approved resolutions calling for the scrapping of the war legislation or at the very least to have careful Diet deliberation on the bills.
Meanwhile, the latest opinion polls by NHK, NNN, and the Asahi Shimbun all show that the disapproval rate for the Abe Cabinet has exceeded the approval rate for the first time.
