Japan Press Weekly

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2015 July 15 - 21 [POLITICS]

11,218 scholars and researchers support appeal opposing war bills

More than 10,000 scholars and researchers working in various fields have expressed their support to an appeal opposing Prime Minister Abe’s security-related legislation, an academics group which issued the appeal announced at a press conference on July 20.

In the press conference held at Gakushikaikan in Tokyo, 150 group members, including Nobel Prize-winning professor emeritus at Kyoto University Masukawa Toshihide, took part. They in turn expressed their objection to the recent forced passage of bills on the legislation through the House of Representatives and their determination to increase their efforts to have the bills scrapped.

Representing the group’s secretariat members, Gakushuin University professor Sato Manabu said that the appeal’s support base is expanding widely and rapidly.

One of the authors of the appeal, Hirowatari Seigo, Senshu University professor and former president of the Science Council of Japan, read out a statement in protest against the ruling coalition’s use of its majority force in the Lower House to bulldoze through the war bills. The statement criticizes the forced passage in defiance of opposition from 80% of the general public as an act of sabotage against constitutionalism and democracy. The statement points out that post-war Japan has established relationships based on trust with neighboring countries through diplomacy based on dialogue, which has greatly contributed to removing threats to Japan’s security. In the statement, scholars and researchers joining the group resolved to make every possible effort together with the general public to kill the bills.

Citing that many people have stood up against the war-related bills, Nobel Prize winner Masukawa said that he feels brighter prospects for blocking the enactment of the bills. He expressed his determination to work hard to strengthen the public opposition movements and force PM Abe to resign.

Past related article:
> Young voices against war legislation echo across Japan [July 11-14, 2015]
> Tokyo Univ. students and professors hold rally against ‘security’ legislation [July 11& 12, 2015]
> All constitutional scholars in parliamentary hearing criticize war legislation as unconstitutional [June 7, 2015]