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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE January 30, 2008
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| January 3, 2008 |
Article 9 – How Peace Boat is Helping to Save the Anti-War Clause of Japan’s Constitution: An Interview with Peace Boat’s Yoshimoto Takashi |
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| Peace Boat staff member Yoshimoto Takashi, who has been heavily involved in the Article 9 Project “Let’s Spread Article 9 in the World!” Art Exhibition, stands next to a poster promoting the Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War which will be held in Tokyo in 2008 |
Throughout the 59th Voyage, the promotion of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution has been a core part of the ship’s life, both onboard and in port. The article renounces war as a means of settling international disputes, and was adopted after the devastation of World War II. Japan vowed that no other country should suffer an atomic bombing, and introduced the peace constitution as a pledge to the world, particular neighbouring countries who suffered under Japanese invasions, to never again wage war. Yet Article 9 is now under threat. During the Cold War, Japan began to develop “Self-Defense Forces (SDF)” and since then has become increasingly militarized and is now one of the world’s top military spenders. The Japanese government has voiced their intention of reversing Article 9, which would have many negative consequences. Popularly supported peace policies, a non-nuclear policy and other peace-building efforts since World War II would disappear, making way for an arms race in East Asia, and threatening stability in the region. |
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The Article 9 Exhibition, with contributions from participants, staff and volunteer staff, were held regularly onboard Peace Boat |
We spoke with Peace Boat’s Yoshimoto Takashi who has been heavily involved in promoting Article 9 on the 59th Global Voyage.
Why is Article 9 important?
It is a renunciation of war, even to protect your own country, and it’s quite revolutionary and admirable because it’s trying to make the world better without using violence. There’s a movement from politicians to change Article 9, and the Japanese people need to think about it because it’s important for the country. Politicians think it’s strange for a country not to be able to protect itself. However, it doesn’t say you can’t protect the country – it just says that you have to do it in a different way without violence, by building mutual trust with other countries. There are reasons for wars starting, so if we could solve those problems such as food shortages and poverty and spend money on sending doctors and give financial support to NGOs who can provide support, instead of on building a military, Japan will gain the trust of other countries and protect itself at the same time. I’d like a lot of people to re-read it and think about what it actually means |
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When Peace Boat docked in Kusadasi, Turkey, the Article 9 Exhibition was taken on an exchange programme with Turkish university students |
What activities has Peace Boat been involved in to promote Article 9?
We’ve had various activities onboard and in ports. On this voyage, I have personally been involved with the art exhibition team [“Let’s Spread Article 9 in the World! Around the World Art Exhibition”], which aims to tell people about Article 9 through pictures, music and other art, both in Japan and in other countries. Many people don’t want to actually read and understand the article as it’s written in the constitution, so we’re trying to express it in pictures and other art to get people interested. We also made t-shirts and other accessories just to get people interested. We have been raising awareness onboard – because of the diverse age groups, there’s been many chances for young people to listen to older people’s experience of war. In ports, we have various pieces of art work brought from Japan depicting images and experiences of war and peace which we usually display on exchange programs. We also interview people and take surveys to ask their opinion about Article 9 and analyze the results onboard. When we get back to Japan, we are planning on holding an art exhibition in Tokyo of art that has been made and collected during this voyage. |
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| Participants make a large 9 to promote Article 9 on Peace Boat’s top deck |
How have participants been involved in promoting Article 9?
There are a lot of people onboard who are in favor of protecting it, and the art exhibition team, which is made up mostly of participants who volunteer their time, think about interesting ways to get the message across because they know that not everyone will come to lectures. We’ve made fliers to distribute and had events outside on days where the date has a nine in it. They make a giant nine with their bodies, so people have become interested that way.
What has been the response of people around the world to Article 9?
A lot of people seem to know about it already, and a lot of people think it's great and wish that their own country had something similar. But of course, not everyone thinks that way: most countries apart from Japan have an army, so they don’t believe in it, but still think it’s a good starting point to think about the issues. |
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A Venezuelan boy looks at the Article 9 Exhibition on display at a community party held in Peace Boat’s honor when the ship stopped off at that country |
What are the biggest threats to Article 9?
The movement to change Article 9 from politicians is the biggest threat. They aren’t from one particular party but it’s quite general, from across the board. However, many of them haven’t thought it through properly, and think of it lightly. The relationship between Japan and the United States might have something to do with it – even if they don’t say it outright, the politicians definitely feel pressure from the US who needs more military support and are just doing what they are told – they feel that if it’s good for the United States, then it’s good for Japan. But, what is more frightening than people wanting to change it is the lack of interest, knowledge and apathy of both politicians and the general public. The constitution generally is really important both for Japan’s present and future – there should be a lot of thought involved, but that doesn’t seem to be happening in Japan. as much as it should
There will be a conference in May 2008 in Tokyo, Japan titled “Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War.” For more information, visit the website of the Global Article 9 Campaign to Abolish War at – www.article-9.org or the conference-specific website at – www.whynot9.jp
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