On the evening of April 8, a large number of Japanese citizens gathered in front of the National Diet Building in Tokyo to protest against the Takai Sanae government’s deployment of long-range missiles and attempts to lift the ban on the export of lethal weapons, moves seen as undermining the Peace Constitution.
The rally was organized by Japanese civic groups opposing constitutional revision. According to the organizers, about 30,000 people participated in the rally that evening.
At the scene, protesters held signs reading “Protect Article 9 of the Constitution”, “No War”, and “Takai Administration Step Down Immediately”, chanting slogans such as “Oppose Constitutional Revision” and “Oppose War”, and calling for the protection of the Peace Constitution.
A protester named Fujimoto told a Xinhua reporter that the Japanese government’s deployment of long-range missiles and plans to lift the ban on the export of lethal weapons violate the pacifist ideals of the Constitution. She said that missiles are weapons for attack and believes that their deployment is not for self-defense purposes.
Fujimoto also said that Japan, as a country that has suffered atomic bombings and should have “never start war again” engraved in its history, must never accept the export of weapons that could promote war in other countries.
Another protester surnamed Kim also believed that the Japanese government’s moves to deploy long-range missiles and similar actions violate the Peace Constitution. He said that the Japanese government is increasingly disregarding the Constitution, which is the reason everyone is gathering here to protest.
According to Tokyo Shimbun, in coordination with this rally, similar protests were also held at over 130 locations across Japan that day, calling for the protection of the Peace Constitution.
The Japanese Constitution, enacted in 1947, is known as the Peace Constitution because Article 9 stipulates that Japan forever renounces war initiated by national right, as well as the use or threat of force as a means of settling international disputes.
On March 31, Japan deployed long-range missiles with “enemy base attack capabilities” in Kumamoto Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture. Recently, Japanese media revealed that the Takai government plans to amend the “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment” and their operational guidelines within April to allow the export of lethal weapons. This series of military moves has aroused strong concern and criticism from all sectors of Japanese society, who believe this shows Japan is abandoning the principle of “exclusive self-defense” and undermining the Peace Constitution.