Protesters Rally to Defend Japan’s Pacifist Constitution on 80th Anniversary
TOKYO –
Japan marked the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of its Constitution on November 3rd, with demonstrators gathering outside the National Diet to defend its pacifist principles as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushes for constitutional revision and an early parliamentary proposal.
Promulgated in 1946, Japan’s postwar Constitution is founded on three fundamental principles: popular sovereignty, respect for basic human rights, and pacifism. It has never been amended since coming into force in May 1947, making the current debate over constitutional reform particularly significant.
Takaichi, who also serves as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has expressed determination to achieve constitutional revision and is seeking an early parliamentary initiative to begin the formal amendment process.
However, opposition from some political parties has made it difficult to build the broad consensus necessary to advance a proposal, leaving the prospects for constitutional revision uncertain.
With Japan facing changing social conditions and growing calls for various constitutional reforms, the debate is entering a potentially decisive period, raising questions about how the country’s founding postwar principles should be preserved or adapted to contemporary needs.
Among those taking part in the November 3rd demonstration was former Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who urged the public to speak out against war and defend the Constitution’s commitment to peace.
“Let’s raise our voices together in the belief that, based on the Constitution, we must never allow war to happen,” Tamaki told the gathering.
The demonstration highlighted the continuing divide between supporters of constitutional revision, who argue that Japan’s legal framework must respond to changing national and international circumstances, and those who believe its postwar commitment to peace should remain unchanged.
Source: Kyodo
