Many Japanese citizens staged a protest rally Wednesday evening in front of the National Diet in Tokyo, opposing the military buildup and constitutional revision drive of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government and calling for the preservation of peace.
As Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi marked one year in office on Wednesday, criticism is growing over her push to expand the country's military capabilities, revise its pacifist Constitution and consider introducing nuclear-powered submarines.
"I believe the Takaichi administration is provoking neighboring countries and greatly increasing the risk of war. This has been the case throughout the past year," said a protester.
"Before the end of this year, Japan plans to revise the three security documents. These documents are themselves terrible documents that serve military expansion. Japan has already used these documents to advance the procurement of offensive weapons and other matters. Next, Japan intends to further increase its military spending. In fact, Japan is also continuously advancing plans to introduce nuclear-powered submarines and the like. So I really cannot tolerate this," another protester said.
Protesters also expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation in which the Takaichi administration is expanding its military buildup while the burden on people's livelihoods remains heavy, and called on the Japanese government to listen to the will of the people, uphold the idea of peace, and never repeat the mistakes of war.
"Japan has relaxed its restrictions on arms exports, begun allowing the export of lethal weapons capable of killing people, continued to pour money into the military industry, and kept deploying missiles on the southwestern islands. I'm worried that these moves may be opening the way for Japan to embark on a path toward being able to wage war. I hope the Japanese government will use tax revenue to safeguard the livelihoods of ordinary people. In addition, it should also be used to support small and medium-sized enterprises, rather than to expand military armaments," said a protester.
"The Japanese government places the purchase of submarines and other military equipment above people's livelihoods. I believe something must be done to express opposition," said another protester.
The Takaichi government has recently accelerated its military buildup, significantly increased defense spending, eased restrictions on exports of lethal weapons, advanced plans to deploy medium- and long-range missiles, and expanded offensive military capabilities.
The government also plans to revise Japan's three key national security documents by the end of the year while stepping up efforts to amend the pacifist Constitution. These moves have continued to fuel concerns among peace groups and the public in Japan.
Japanese protesters rally against Takaichi goverment's military buildup, constitutional revision
