TOKYO, Japan: Large numbers of Japanese citizens gathered on Friday evening in Tokyo to protest Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s attempt to revise the country’s pacifist Constitution, Xinhua reported.
Nearly 1,000 people attended the demonstration in front of the prime minister’s official residence, holding placards reading “Oppose war, defend the Constitution”, and “No war, no Takaichi”.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “No constitutional revision” and “Protect peace”, voicing strong dissatisfaction with the government’s direction.
Chiharu Tomiyama, one of the demonstrators, told reporters that Takaichi had repeatedly advocated constitutional revision even before becoming prime minister, and that her renewed push must be stopped.
Another protester, identified as Koyama, said that while the government continues to increase defence spending, ordinary people are struggling with worsening livelihoods.
The Takaichi administration is trying to move Japan toward becoming a military state, which is extremely dangerous, he said.
Many young people were also seen among the crowd. A woman in her 20s said she feared that moves to revise Japan’s pacifist Constitution would undermine peace.
Japan, which once waged wars and invaded China, was a country that destroyed peace, she said, noting that Article 9 of the constitution must be protected.
Japan’s Constitution, which took effect in 1947, is often referred to as the pacifist Constitution because Article 9 states that the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
After being designated prime minister in a parliamentary vote earlier this month, Takaichi reiterated her commitment to constitutional revision, sparking concern across various sectors of Japanese society. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
