Japan Press Weekly

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2015 January 28 - February 3 [PEACE]

Worldwide association of Christian churches calls on PM Abe to defend Article 9

The World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide association of 350 Christian churches in 140 countries, has recently sent Japan’s Prime Minister Abe Shinzo a letter demanding that Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution be protected and enforced, a WCC-affiliated organization in Japan on January 27 made public.

According to the National Christian Council in Japan (NCCJ), NCCJ Moderator Kobashi Koichi relayed the letter of WCC Secretary General Olav Tveit dated January 16 to the Cabinet Office.

Referring to the 4th Global Inter-Religious Conference on Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution held in Tokyo in December 2014, Reverend Tveit in his letter expressed his support for the conference’s final statement which affirms that Article 9 is a “foundation stone for peace in Asia” and urges the Japanese government to “protect and preserve Article 9”.

He also wrote that Article 9 should be “reaffirmed, not reinterpreted”, obviously criticizing PM Abe’s attempt to revise the Japanese Constitution with new interpretations.

The reverend expressed his hope that Article 9 will be positioned at the center of Japan’s diplomatic policy and concluded his letter by stating that Article 9 is “not a relic from the past, but a model for the future”.