PROTESTERS gathered at a bustling business district in Tokyo, they were seen holding banners and demanding that the government should follow the constitution’s article 9 and adhere to peace diplomacy.
They also want the government to stop following the U.S. strategy of military expansion and allocate more financial funds to areas that foster economic development.
“The prices are soaring in Japan, and an increasing number of people are falling into poverty, so there are many areas where the funds should be allocated. I think it is totally wrong to spend the money on increasing defense expenditure,” one of the protesters said.
“I hope the government can seriously consider the livelihood issue and what will happen in the future. The prices will rise continually, and even meeting some basic needs like food will become a problem. All these issues are interconnected, and I hope everyone can understand that,” another protester said.
Other protesters want Japan to halt its pursuit of military expansion, and instead, draw lessons from its history of invasion which caused immense harm to the peoples of Asia.
“Given the historical fact that many innocent people were killed by the Japanese army, it is imperative to prevent any recurrence of war” protester said.
The demonstrators also said that the government has continued to violate its pacifist constitution by significantly boosting its military forces and repeatedly increasing its military expenditure to record-high levels. They say that this move is a grave threat to regional peace and stability.
