Japan Press Weekly

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2024 June 26 - July 2 [PEACE]

Voices of 1,200 youth opposing constitutional revision resound through Ginza

Chanting in chorus, “Don’t turn Japan into a war-capable nation!”, “Don’t change the Constitution! Make the best use of it!”, 1,200 young people from across the country marched in demonstration through Tokyo’s famous shopping district of Ginza on June 30.

At a rally held ahead of the demonstration, participants talked about their grassroots efforts to oppose the Kishida government move toward becoming a war-fighting nation and to realize a government that will implement policies based on the Constitution.

A 20-year-old college student who came from Aichi Prefecture to take part in the event criticized the government’s military buildup policy, including Japan’s possession of an enemy base attack capability, for not contributing to peacebuilding. The student said, “Peace shouldn’t be something that comes at someone else’s expense. We have the right to live in peace.”

A 24-year-old man from Osaka pointed out that watching the news about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, he has again realized that children and elderly people always become victims in wars, and said that as a nation having the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan should play a leading role in efforts to create a peaceful world.

A 27-year-old male participant living in Tochigi Prefecture said, “I came here because I can’t sit idly by when the Kishida administration takes advantage of today’s complex global security environment to boost Japan’s military might. Joining in the rally and demonstration, I really became aware that there is no need to be pessimistic at all.”

An 18-year-old college student from Hokkaido said, “Listening to other young people working to push the government to spend more for the improvement of social services and education than for a military buildup, I was motivated to work together with young people in Hokkaido on this issue.”