Rallies held on Japan's Constitution Day
Citizens supporting and opposing a revision of Japan's Constitution held their respective events in Tokyo on Constitution Day on Saturday.
Those against amending the national charter gathered in a park in Koto Ward, with about 38,000 people attending the rally, according to the organizers.
Senior officials from opposition parties called for not allowing the parliament to propose constitutional amendments, while underscoring the need to protect peace and human rights by utilizing the current Constitution.
"We haven't created nuclear war for 80 years (since the end of World War II), and we want you to carry on these efforts," said Terumi Tanaka, 93, co-chair of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, also known as Nihon Hidankyo, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
Shoji Honda, 81, who takes part in the annual rally every year, said, "It's important to build peace under (war-renouncing) Article 9 (of the Constitution)," stressing that the supreme law must not be amended.
After the rally, participants marched around the park, holding banners and placards.
Opposition party lawmakers attend a rally of people who are against Constitutional amendments on Saturday in Tokyo. |
JIJI
On the same day, advocates of a constitutional amendment held an open forum in Chiyoda Ward.
The event brought together about 21,000 people, including online participants and attendees at 19 locations where it was broadcast, according to the organizers.
Amid the challenging international security atmosphere, which includes concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, participants adopted a declaration urging the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and others to advance work to revise the Constitution, including Article 9.
In a video message sent to the rally, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the LDP, said that the party will redouble efforts so that the Diet can make a constitutional revision proposal.
A 55-year-old corporate worker from Kanagawa Prefecture who joined the event said that he is concerned whether the current Constitution, which has not been revised since it took effect shortly after the end of World War II, is sufficient to protect the citizens of the country.
He said he believes that it should be revised in line with the changing times.
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