Feature｜On the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of the Japanese Constitution, calls for peace echoed in front of the Diet

On the afternoon of the 3rd, there were crowds of people in front of the National Assembly Building in Tokyo, Japan, and protests broke out one after another.

About 14,000 people gathered at the intersection in front of the National Assembly. Some stood on the lawn of a nearby park and held up handwritten placards such as "Oppose War" and "The Constitution is the Foundation of Peace", calling for the protection of the peaceful constitution.

That day marks the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of Japan’s current constitution. The Constitution of Japan was promulgated on November 3, 1946. Article 9 of the Constitution stipulates that Japan "forever renounces war initiated as a sovereign right of the country, and the threat or exercise of force as a means of settling international disputes" and "will not maintain land, sea, air, or other war forces, nor recognize the country's right to belligerent." Therefore, it is also known as the Peace Constitution.

Tomoko Tamura, Chairman of the Communist Party of Japan, said in a live speech that when the constitution was reviewed 80 years ago, Article 9 was the focus of discussion. It reflected the desire of people who had experienced war not to repeat the same mistakes and to hope that the world would never have a war again.

Tamura said that Japan had launched aggressive wars in Asia and claimed a large number of innocent lives. The post-war constitution reflected its reflection on aggression. She criticized Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for being unwilling to face up to Japan's history of invading other countries and the history of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "It is worrying that a prime minister who has failed to learn the lessons of the war claims to amend the constitution," she said.

Talking about the military expansion and the burden it brings on people's livelihood, Tamura emphasized that continuously increasing military expenditures, increasing taxes, and cutting social security and education budgets are taking a "path to national subjugation." As soon as he finished speaking, the audience burst into applause.

Former Okinawa Governor Danny Tamaki said in a speech on stage that after Okinawa returned to Japan, the US military base was still retained. Cases caused by US military personnel occurred one after another, and the return of the base was slow.

Tamaki also expressed concern about the trend of revising the "Three Non-nuclear Principles". He mentioned the history of the US military deploying nuclear weapons in Okinawa and warned that if the Japanese government changes this principle, "it will be tantamount to bringing the fear of war to Japan and Okinawa again."

Tamaki said in an interview with reporters that he will continue to work hard to push the current governor of Okinawa Prefecture to listen to the anti-war voices of the people and openly and clearly express his position against the war.

Ms. Tokai, who attended the rally, told reporters that she was worried about the increasingly active constitutional revision forces in Japan. She also hoped that the rally would pay more attention to Okinawa, pointing out serious problems such as crimes committed by US troops stationed in Japan and pollution by organic fluorine compounds, and calling for revision of the Japan-US status agreement.

Talking about Japan’s domestic policies, Tokai criticized: “The government spends money on weapons, but it seems to put the livelihood and health of its citizens in a secondary position.”

Teacher Yamaguchi told reporters that he came to protect peace and the constitution. "Whether it is my own children or the children I teach, I hope they will have a peaceful and bright future when they grow up."

Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" published an editorial that day and pointed out that the Japanese government can only achieve peace by playing a diplomatic role and insisting on advocating "no war"; if it follows the United States in pursuing the so-called "peace through strength" and aspires to become a military power, it will deviate from the spirit of the Constitution. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of the Japanese Constitution, an editorial warned: "The fundamentals of the Constitution must not be forgotten."