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Abe Keita (Franciscan priest) |
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Among the main events we have celebrated this year we should mention the
60th anniversary of the end of the war and the Hanshin earthquake of 10
years ago. Last November American President Bush met with our Prime Minister
Koizumi in Japan, an event this year that caught the attention of the mass
media and had a wide coverage.
The official discussions seemed to have been related to the mission of
Japan's Self Defense Forces in Iraq and the American military bases in
Japan, issues directly connected to the revision of Article 9 of the Japanese
Constitution. Watching the TV news I felt doubts about how far the lessons
of the last war have been implemented in Japan, the only country in the
world to have experienced nuclear bombing.
At the beginning of November I received electronic mail from the Melchizedec
group of Kojimachi church informing me that during a peace march in Okinawa,
opposing the construction of an American military base in Henoko (Okinawa)
a Buddhist monk, Kizu Hiromitsu, of the Nipponzan Myohoji Temple had been
arrested by the police and put into jail, because he obstructed the passing
of a police patrol car at one of the gates of Kadena American military
air base in Okinawa. The mail asked for support of the monk who was fasting
in protest and to raise the voice demanding his immediate release without
prosecuting him. Although I tried to contact by phone the police in Okinawa
the phone was always busy, most probably because of so many protests but
soon after, the news arrived that he had been released.
Every time I listened to the news during the last months I feel that Japan
is moving far away from being a peaceful country and the last rock left
could be Article 9 of Japan's Constitution that is about to be revised.
The fact that Japan's religions have become active to defend the present
Constitution could be taken as a sign that there are still persons in Japan
demanding peace. Following their own religious teachings and spirituality
they have overcome their differences focusing on the defense of Article
9 and make public appeals through ads in the Newspapers to keep Article
9 of the Constitution, under the common name of "Article 9 Association
of Religions.
There are voices regarding possible missile attacks from North Korea that
try to justify legislation in case of emergency, but examining the "White
Book" edited by the Japan Defense Agency last year, such attacks are
improbable. As a result, many people doubt the need of revising the Constitution.
Looking at the issue from the point of view of the relationships between
North Korea and Japan such attacks are unthinkable, but considering the
American military pressure from Japan it could be very possible that North
Korea launches Tepodon missiles against American military bases and main
Japanese cities.
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Due to this, public gatherings make appeals against the revision of the
Constitution, under fear that as a result of revising Article 9, Japan
and the United States will start together military preparations that will
become the main cause to provoke possible military retaliation by North
Korea. It could be said that not to change Article 9 is a very important
move for the peace and safety of the North East Asian region.
Again, Japan's Article 9 is unique in the constitutions of the world and
some international conferences, like Hague's World Citizens' Peace Conference
(1999) and the UN-NGOs 2000 Conference have highly valuated it. Due to
all this, both movements, to revise the Constitution or to oppose its revision,
especially by the association of religions, are actually calling the attention
at the end of this 60th year of the postwar.
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