Japan Press Weekly

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2016 January 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

Civil Alliance opposing war legislation kicks off street campaign

The Civil Alliance for Peace and Constitutionalism, which was formed at the end of 2015 calling for cooperation between opposition parties to repeal the war legislation, on January 5 staged its first street action in front of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. The area was jam packed with an audience of about 5,000.

Representatives of various civic groups composing the alliance gave speeches calling on opposition parties to join hands in order to defeat the ruling coalition in this summer’s Upper House election.

A member of a parents' organization in Kumamoto Prefecture opposing the national security legislation, Takimoto Chika, reported how opposition forces in Kumamoto have decided on their joint candidate for the coming national election before the rest of the country. “We can no longer overlook the excesses by this government. I hope this movement will expand across the country,” she said.

A member of the anti-war students’ group SEALDs, Honma Nobukazu, said, “Laying aside minor differences of opinion, we’re ready to fight the tyrannical government. Let’s think about what we can do in anticipation of the Upper House election and take action.”

National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) President Odagawa Yoshikazu, one of the promoters of the All-Out Action Committee objecting to the war legislation, called for achieving the goal of collecting 20 million signatures demanding the abolition of the war laws.

Representatives of the four opposition parties - the Japanese Communist, Democratic, Japan Innovation, and Social Democratic parties - delivered speeches in solidarity.

JCP Chair Shii Kazuo expressed his determination to continue efforts to run joint opposition candidates in all the 32 single-seat constituencies in the coming election. “Sometimes I hear that other opposition parties have ‘an allergy to communists’. But we are now standing at a turning point of whether to let PM Abe’s despotic government continue any longer. This is not a time for talking about outdated likes and dislikes,” he stressed.

A female high-school student came from Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward to listen to the speeches. She said, “Recently, my schoolteacher talked about the voting age in Japan being lowered to 18. More students than I had expected are giving serious consideration to political issues. I want to discuss with my friends what I heard today.”

During the street drive that lasted over an hour and a half, 720 people signed the petition seeking the revocation of the security legislation.

Past related article:
> ‘Civil Alliance’ formed to repeal war legislation [December 21, 2015]