Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2016 November 2 - 8 [POLITICS]

Pro-Constitution actions take place across country

On November 3, the 70th anniversary of the promulgation of Japan’s post-war Constitution (known as Culture Day), various actions took place across the country in opposition to the Abe government’s move to undermine the pacifist Constitution.

Near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, a committee consisting of several youth organizations such as the Democratic Youth League of Japan (DYLJ) and the youth section of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) staged a street drive calling for young people to respond to questionnaires regarding constitutional amendment.

Speaking with the use of a microphone, DYLJ member Nakayama Ayumi, 26, condemned the Abe administration for trying to engage Self-Defense Forces personnel dispatched to South Sudan in dangerous missions based on the unconstitutional national security legislation. “The danger is getting more and more real. Let’s raise our voices for peace!” she appealed to passersby.

An 18-year-old high school boy filled out the questionnaire and said, “We should be proud of the fact that Japan has not fought in any war after World War II. If our country is involved in armed conflicts abroad, our generation will be adversely affected.”

A male college student, 19, said, “I fear that the government is intent on arbitrarily changing the accepted postwar interpretation of the Constitution.”

On the same day, an assembly calling for protection of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution was held in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward with 400 citizens participating. The four opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, sent to the assembly their messages expressing solidarity. JCP Chair Shii Kazuo expressed his determination in his message to work to further increase cooperation between opposition forces and concerned citizens in order to defend the peace Constitution.

Similar actions took place in various places around the nation, including the major cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Fukuoka.