Japanese citizens held a protest rally in front of Koenji Station in Tokyo on Saturday, opposing the Sanae Takaichi administration's moves to revise the "Three Security Documents" and continue military expansion.
Protesters expressed deep concern over the government's continuous stoking of regional tensions and preparations for war.
"The Japanese government keeps increasing military spending, building missile bases in Okinawa, and preparing for war. We think the Japanese people should stand up and stop this. We must prevent the revision of the 'Three Security Documents,' and we should never allow increases in the defense budget. We must express our opposition," said one protester.
"Budgets for military expansion and war preparation keep getting passed by means of supplementary budgets and so on. If society is left with only this one path (of 'using the military-industrial complex to drive the economy,') then there is something fundamentally wrong with that society itself. In reality, there are many things that should take priority over the military, but these issues are completely ignored," said another protester.
"The risk of war now keeps rising because of Takaichi. We desperately want to prevent war. If the government truly heads down the path of launching a war, we must use all of our strength to stop it," said a third protester.
The "Three Security Documents" refer to the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, and the Defense Buildup Program, which are regarded as the overarching framework for Japan's security and defense.
The revisions to the "Three Security Documents" promoted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is considered not merely a policy adjustment, but rather a redesign of Japan's military capabilities, strategic positioning and framework for external security cooperation.
Japanese protest government's military expansion
