Japan Press Weekly

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2015 September 16 - 29 [POLITICS]

Many researchers resolve to fight to have war legislation repealed

On the day after the governing coalition forced the national security bills through the Upper House on September 19, a group of 171 scholars and researchers held an emergency press conference in Tokyo, calling for launching a movement to repeal the newly-enacted war legislation.

Gakushuin University Professor Sato Manabu, one of the organizers of the researchers’ group, read out a statement protesting against the forced passage of the bills. Noting that 14,120 researchers at 140 universities across the country endorse the group’s objective, Sato declared that they will promote a campaign to repeal the unconstitutional legislation before it is applied.

Hirowatari Seigo, former president of the Science Council of Japan (SCJ), said, “Nobody is crushed by the enactment. The need now is to start a campaign to establish a new government which actually represents the will of the majority of the general public so that it will revoke the security laws and the Abe Cabinet decision allowing Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. Let’s work together to achieve the greatest ‘people’s revolution’ in Japanese history.” Hirowatari received enthusiastic applause.

Many speakers expressed their determination to fight making use of every means, including court battles. Hosei University Professor Yamaguchi Jiro highlighted the need for opposition parties to cooperate with one another, saying, “Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii has put forward a daring proposal for cooperation among the opposition parties.”