Tens of thousands of Japanese citizens gathered at the National Diet Building in Tokyo on Tuesday to protest against the Takaichi administration's recent moves undermining the country's pacifist constitution.
Protesters held signs with slogans calling for the protection of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, opposing its revision, and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Some protesters expressed strong concerns over the government's recent actions, including lifting the ban on lethal weapons export, significantly increasing defense spending, and initiating revisions to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles.
Japan's Constitution, which took effect in 1947, is often referred to as a pacifist constitution, as Article 9 states that the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of a nation, which will not threaten or use force to settle international disputes.
The Three Non-Nuclear Principles, not possessing, not producing and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory, were first declared in the Diet, Japan's parliament, by then Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in 1967 and viewed as a national credo.
Apart from Tokyo, rallies were also held in other parts of Japan on the same day against the Takaichi government's moves.
Thousands rally in Tokyo against Takaichi's constitutional revision, military expansion
Thousands rally in Tokyo against Takaichi's constitutional revision, military expansion
Thousands rally in Tokyo against Takaichi's constitutional revision, military expansion
