Japanese civil society holds rally to oppose government military expansion

On the 10th, a number of Japanese civil society groups held a national joint exchange rally in Tokyo to discuss issues such as the deployment of long-range missiles, ammunition depot construction, and military base expansion. They expressed their opposition to the Japanese government's military expansion and their demands for maintaining regional peace and public security.

Hiroshi Nemoto, a member of a civil society organization in Osaka Prefecture, Japan: The Japanese government continues to promote the expansion of military facilities with complete disregard for the lives of residents. Regarding the public opposition, I feel that the Japanese government is almost blindly suppressing it. The Japanese government has been ignoring the spirit of the Constitution. I participated in this rally just to express one point. Rather than expanding its military, the Japanese government should first consider how to protect people's lives.

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. Army will hold the "Sharp Sword" joint military exercise starting on October 19. Participants expressed concerns about Japan's continued strengthening of military cooperation with the US military, believing that Japan's strengthening of so-called defense capabilities on the grounds of increasingly severe surrounding security environment may further aggravate regional tensions.

Yukio Nishioka, representative of civil society organizations in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan: I do feel that this is very dangerous. It can even be said that Japan is being guided by the United States, or has become a helper of the United States. But I think this is Japan creating an extremely dangerous situation. In recent years, there has been a trend of public opinion in Japan, which believes that Japan is facing an increasingly severe security environment and therefore must strengthen its defense capabilities. But I believe that this is not the case. It is Japan itself that is creating this dangerous situation.

Resident of Aichi Prefecture, Japan: I have always hoped that Japan would stop producing missiles, especially after the Japanese government issued the "Three Security Documents" in December 2022. Japan will not only start producing and deploying long-range missiles, but will also double its military budget. So I think Japan's militarization is really advancing.