Final Statement
The 7th Global Inter-religious Conference on
Article 9 of the Japanese Peace Constitution
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and Peace in Asia
Prayer from Okinawa
March 6, 2021
Okinawa - Tokyo, Japan
Article 9 of Japan's Peace Constitution
Aspiring sincerely to sustain peace with justice and security in the world, the Japanese people
forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as ameans of settling international disputes.
In order to attain this goal land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will neverbe maintained. The ferocity of belligerence ofthe state should not be recognized.
The Global Inter-religious Conference on Article 9 was launched as an interfaithinitiative to pray for peace with justice, and to deepen our faith commitment for building a world
without war in the spirit of the objectives of the Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, which is a"symbol for world peace." The Global Interfaith Conferences on Article 9 were held in previous
years in 2007 (Tokyo), 2009 (Seoul), 2011 (Okinawa), 2014 (Tokyo), 2016 (Osaka), and 2018
(Hiroshima).
We, the one hundred and twenty participants who gathered to be part of the 7th
Global Inter-religious Conference on Article 9 of the Japan's Peace Constitution, are from Japan,
South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Guam, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, India, the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and the United States of America.
Many participants who attended previous conferences also attended the 2012 Interreligious Conference on Nuclear Issues in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima, which focused on
nuclear power generation and its dangers to humanity. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the 7th conference was organized as an online conference, with two key stations in Okinawa andTokyo, Japan. On 2-3 March, 2021, we exchanged opinions on various issues related to peaceand security in the world. We issue this statement from the 7th Global Inter-religious Conferenceon Article 9 with the hope that the whole world will realize peace with justice based on dialogue
and mutual trust, and not with the use of force.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has become a problem for the whole of humanity, which

demands global solidarity of all peoples. The basic principle of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) is "to leave no one behind," and it is precisely this principle that will enablehumanity to address COVID-19 through just and equitable vaccine distribution to all. Similarly,
the nuclear crisis, climate change, and marine plastic pollution should all be addressed aschallenges to humanity. No one should suffer discrimination, exclusion, or experience divisionfrom others in our common effort to address these challenges.
2)

Okinawa was sacrificed in the World War II (Battle of Okinawa), placed under U.S.

military rule after the war, and, as a keystone of U.S. defense preparation in East Asia, has bornea disproportionate burden of the U.S. military presence since the return of Okinawa to Japan in
1972. The government of Japan should take action, without delay, to mitigate the crushing burdenof the U.S. military bases in Okinawa. We demand a halt to the construction of a new base atHenoko. In solidarity with the clear majority of Okinawans, we express outrage at government
plans to use soil containing the remains of victims of the Battle of Okinawa as landfill for thisnew base. The withdrawal of the U.S. Marine forces from Okinawa should be the immediatepriority to ensure peace and security in the region. We protest the growing deployment of Japan's
Self Defense Forces (SDF) on the Nansei Islands and strongly oppose any deployment ofintermediate-range nuclear forces upon Okinawa. Japan, the U.S.A. and the neighboring countries
must never again create a situation that might draw Okinawa into war.
3)

We are very concerned about the policy embracing a militarized right to collective self-defense, made by the previous Administration of Shinzo Abe, which violates the restrictions ofthe Constitution. Article 9 represents Japan's commitment to ensure peace in Asia, and thepromise to never wage war again. For the same reasons, we oppose the concept of "first-strikeagainst enemy bases." The proposed revision of the Peace Constitution of Japan will bring about
serious instability, especially in the East Asia region. Japan must not become a threat toneighboring countries, nor a source of destabilizing peace and security. We call on thegovernments of nuclear-armed states that have not established "no first use" policies to do so. We
also reject any attempt to use the “US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific” as a pretext torevise Article 9 of the Constitution.
4)

Sincere acknowledgment of Japan's aggression and colonial rule by the Japanese

government forms the foundation of peace in the East Asia region. The Government of Japan
should not only protect the Constitution, but uphold previous official Government statements that
acknowledge Japan's past aggression and colonialism, such as the (Chief Cabinet Secretary) Kōno
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Statement of 1993, the (Prime Minister) Murayama Statement of 1995 and the (Prime Minister)Kan Statement of 2010. We urge Prime Minister Suga and the current LDP Administration toimprove upon the previous administration's failure to clearly acknowledge responsibility andapologize for still-unresolved injustices and crimes committed under colonialism and war, suchas the "comfort women" and forced labor issues, and to make appropriate reparations tovictims. In this regard, the current issue of hate speech and discrimination against Koreans (aswell as other minority communities) in Japan must be properly addressed if the government istruly remorseful of the past and desires peace with neighboring countries. We reiterate thestatements from previous Conferences, that there should not be any attempt by Japanese
government officials to pay homage at the Yasukuni Shrine, where class-A war criminals arehallowed .
5)

Regarding "territorial" disputes with neighboring countries, we urge the Government ofJapan to resolve these disputes in the spirit of Article 9, through dialogue and diplomaticnegotiations. We also call upon each country to refrain from the use or threat of force as a meansof settling such disputes, as this contravenes the letter and spirit of the Charter of the United
Nations, and goes against the Japan-China Joint Communique (1972) as well as the Japan-China
Peace and Friendship Treaty (1978). Unilateral action must not be taken to exploit natural
resources in disputed areas, whether in the South China Sea or the East China Sea, as such actions
hinder the values of "peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet" promoted by the U.N.
6)

Peace-building on the Korean Peninsula, together with preserving Article 9, is a key topeace and stability in Northeast Asia. We endorse the call for an immediate, formal declarationof the end of the Korean War and the signing of a peace treaty to replace the 1953 ArmisticeAgreement. To achieve these goals, it is imperative that the Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, the Republic of Korea, Japan and the U.S.A. refrain from military actions that haverepeatedly provoked hostility among neighbors. We urge both U.S. and Japanese governments tobegin dialogue toward normalization of diplomatic relations with the DPRK, and call for adenuclearization of the Korean Peninsula that includes the removal of the USA's nuclear umbrella
from the Korean Peninsula, the removal of U.N. and U.S. economic sanctions against the DPRK,
as well as the dismantling of the DPRK's nuclear weapons. Related to the above, we appeal tothe international community, including people of all faiths, to support the letter and spirit of theKorean peace process that began on April 27, 2018 at Panmunjom, as this will surely open up anew era for peace, security and co-prosperity in the Northeast Asia region based on respect toward
the governments concerned.

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Citizens' patriotic sentiments, media criticism and national self-interest can cause every

government to shrink from its moral duty to engage in diplomatic dialogue. This is why it isimportant for citizens and religious communities of every country to interact, dialogue andpromote peace across national borders. As the range of international citizen-to-citizen interactions
expand, we hope and pray that the spirit of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, which renounces
any military force, will spread among the world's people and nations until true peace, true security
and true dignity is achieved everywhere.
8)

Finally, we urge all nuclear power states including the U.S.A. to ratify the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons, which came into effect on January 22, 2021. With this we canfinally bring an end to the threat of nuclear destruction around the world, and also pave the way
for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
We issue this joint statement as a symbol of our commitment to building peace and moving
beyond conflict.

Plan of Action
1. Join the Gospel Group in front of the Futenma Airbase in solidarity with their message NO!
OSPREY NO! RAPE NO! BASE at 18:00 on May 3, 2021. Organize a similar gathering
singing “We shall overcome” in your place in solidarity with the Group in Okinawa on May
3,2021.
2. Send a message of protest to the Governor of Okinawa, Mr. Denny Tamaki, against thegovernment's plan to use soil containing the remains of victims of the Battle of Okinawa(Japanese, citizens of Okinawa, people forcefully brought from the Korean peninsula) as
landfill for the new base of Henoko.
Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki should use his gubernatorial powers tostop the development of the Kumano Mine. The earth and sand where theremains lie should not be used for the base.
Send fax +8198-866-2467
Email: kouhou@pref.okinawa.lg.jp
3. Send a message to the Japanese embassy in your country, before May 3, 2021 (Constitution
Memorial Day of Japan): Protect Article 9.

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4. Support the Korean Peace Appeal: End the Korean War.
https://en.endthekoreanwar.net/
5. Urge the Biden administration to consider revising the "Pivot to Asia" to address tensions in
the Asia-Pacific region in a non-confrontational way, without the threat or use of militaryforce.
6. Exchange information on exposure experience, online programs, and interfaith prayer
gatherings to help young people develop knowledge, experience, and sensitivity to peaceand nonviolence in today's world.
Participants of the 7th Global Inter-religious Conference on Article 9March 6, 2021

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