Hundreds of people, mostly students, took to the streets of Tokyo to protest Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo’s intention to amend Japan’s pacifist constitution, local media reported.
Earlier in May, Abe announced plans to revise Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which forbids the state from engaging in wars as a means of settling international conflicts. It came into effect in 1947 after World War II.
On Sunday, demonstrators gathered in Shinjuku Central Park, which is surrounded by the Japanese capital’s tallest buildings, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings.
The organizers said some 1,800 people came out for the rally, Mainichi Newspaper reported.
「組織犯罪を計画段階で処罰可能とする「共謀罪」の要件を盛り込んだ組織犯罪処罰法改正案などに抗議する集会が２１日、東京の新宿中央公園と大阪市の靱公園で開かれた」#共謀罪 「絶対反対」とデモ行進 東京・大阪の繁華街で – 毎日新聞 https://t.co/gBHHyyrOGK
— SK-2 (@sing_whale) May 21, 2017
The protesters carried banners, saying “What should be changed is not the Constitution but the politics” and “Protect peace, oppose war,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
“The Abe administration has set a time frame for changing the pacifist Constitution. We are gathering here today to call on the people to recognize that what should be changed is not the Constitution, but Japan’s politics,” Izumi Kurotsu, one of the rally organizers, told Xinhua.
A post shared by okojosanae (@yamanesanae) on
