About 50,000 people gathered in Tokyo on May 3 to back Japan's pacifist constitution and oppose revisions, in what activists described as the country's largest such protest. [1]
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called for advanced discussions on revising the charter, which was written by U.S. occupation forces after World War II and has stayed unchanged since May 3, 1947. [1] Conservative members of her ruling Liberal Democratic Party want to amend Article 9, which forbids Japan from using military force to settle international disputes. [1]
The constitution can only be changed if two-thirds of lawmakers in both houses of parliament approve a revision and voters then back it in a national referendum. [1] Public opinion remains split. A Yomiuri Shimbun poll found 57% support for revision, while an Asahi Shimbun survey put support at 47%. [1]
At the Tokyo rally, protesters said Article 9 has kept Japan out of U.S.-led conflicts, including the Iraq war. [1] In March, Takaichi cited the same clause when she declined a U.S. request to send Japan's maritime self-defence forces to the Strait of Hormuz. [1]
The protest came on Japan's Constitutional Memorial Day, a national holiday that marks the document's 1947 entry into force. [1]
