Japan Press Weekly

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2022 May 18 - 24 [PEACE]

80% of Japanese youth in survey: Japan should not possess nuclear weapons

More than 80% of young Japanese think that Japan should not possess nuclear weapons.

Akahata reported on this on May 18 from the results of an on-street questionnaire on the Constitution which the Japan Peace Committee (JPC) conducted in early May in Hokkaido, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, and Okayama prefectures.

In the questionnaire, regarding the pacifist Article 9 of the Constitution, 44.2% of respondents said that they “disagree” with revising this article and 12.7% said “somewhat disagree”. In comparison, the percentage of “agree” and “somewhat agree” stood at 7.1% and 12.2%, respectively. As to Clause 2 of Article 9 which bans Japan’s possession of war potential, 35% expressed disapproval of changing this clause while 31% expressed approval.

In addition, asked whether Japan should possess nuclear weapons, 82.2% said “No” and 17.5% said “Yes”.

JPC Aichi prefectural organization member Yabuki Akira, 26, pointed out that the survey results clearly indicate strong antiwar sentiments among Japanese youth. He added, “Young people want Japan to be a nation that engages in peace diplomacy and not militarism based on Article 9 of the Constitution.”