April 2023 Issue
English Version of the “Article 9 Association (A9A)” Bulletin and News
This is the translated version of the Japanese edition of the Bulletin and News published in April 2023. It
is published by Katsuyuki Nara of the New English Teachers Association (or Shin-Eiken, http://www.shin-eiken.com/) and Sarah Brock. The translation is on our own．
Uploaded on April 20th, 2023

English version No. 268

Following in the Footsteps of Kenzaburo Oe:

A9A National Exchange Meeting: Stop Massive Military
Buildup and Constitution Amendment!
A9A Founder and organizer Nobel Laureate Oe Kenzaburo passed away on March 3,2023.
During the period of private mourning before the announcement of his death, the A9A
secretariat passed a plan for a national activity exchange meeting.
1. Date: May 28th (Sun.) 1:30 pm ~ 4:30 pm.
2. Venue: Nihon Education Hall, Meeting Room 1
Participation Fee: ¥ 1,000 (students ¥ 500)

In Memory of Dr. Kenzaburo Oe
March 22 2023

A9A secretariat

Dr. Kenzaburo Oe, A9A founder and organizer, passed away on March 3.
With Hisashi Inoue, Takeshi Umehara, Yasuhiro Okudaira, Makoto Oda,Shuchi Tsurumi and Mutsuko Miki, Dr. Oe called people to action andestablished Article 9 Association (A9A) on June 10, 2004. He traveled with
two other organizers around the country to hold meetings and give lecturesand speeches, and A9A groups formed in cities and prefectures around
Japan. The A9A grew to the point that a Secretariat was created as a boardof managers, consisting of 11 intellectuals and professionals.
Dr. Oe claimed, “I’m not good at making speeches,”

Dr. Oe said, “Immediately after the end of last war,

but his talks always made audiences laugh with hisgrownups wrote the article 9 using the phrase

wit and humor. He once said that he went ahead“Aspiring (sincerely) to …” I think that “aspire to”

with speaking because “My wartime experiences in

is a good phrase. The phrase is also used in the Basic

childhood gave me a strong desire to defend andEducation Law.”utilize Article 9.”
In 2006 Dr. Oe attended rallies opposing laws
At the Kamakura City A9A meeting on April 9 2011

threatening the integrity of the Constitution held infront of the National Diet building. At that time heopposition parties join a struggle.

expressed bitter criticism of government education
policies promoting overt patriotism aimed at forcing

At the end of 2012, the Second Abe Cabinet cameschool children to cultivate an “attitude to love theinto being. In 2014 this cabinet imposed thecountry.” He was a member of the rally that encircle

resolution to exercise the right of collective self-

the building protesting the procedural law to amend

defense, and in 2015 bulldozed the national

the Constitution enacted in May 2007.

security-related laws through the diet. In 2023 thethreatofmassive

militarybuildupandWhen A9A was formed in 2004, public opinion polls

constitutional revision is very real. In Dr. Oe’s name,showed that over 60% of people were in favor of

the Secretariat is determined to make this meeting

constitutional change. But in 2007, the tables wereon May 28th a rallying point to inform people andturned, and the Abe administration lost the Julyarouse public opposition to massive military buildup

2007 election, forcing the cabinet to resign onand constitutional revision.

September 26th. This clearly showed that it ispossible to change society if grassroots forces and(Translated by Katsuyuki Nara）

Provisional A9A Group activities
Good Many Visitors Attracted Lecture Meeting, Screening
Senju A9A, Adachi Ward, Tokyoby Junko Tanaka, Administrative Staff

Senju A9A held a lecture meeting featuring eminent scholar Teruhiso
Horio, Tokyo University professor emeritus of education on January
1st. It was a great success, with far more people coming than expectedor fit into the small 63-seat capacity venue. We apologize to those
who could not enter the venue.
Theevent

beganwithascreeningoftheShidehara continues in the hope that the former

documentary film Shidehara- Prime Minister ofprime minister’s words will help people clearlyJapan from Kadoma City. This documentary

understand the origins of the Peace Constitution.

describes how Kijuro Shidehara, who became Prime
Minister in 1945, proposed Article 9 at a meeting

At the end of his speech, Dr. Horio stressed that thewithSupremeinternational community is moving toward peace, so

Commander of the Allied Forces GHQ, andwe should work out ways to avoid war, rather than

Shidehara's belief in Japan’s desire for peace.

becoming obsessed with preparing for war thatGeneralDouglas

MacArthur,might come to us. He warned to beware of current
Dr. Horio spoke about his discovery in 2016 ofpopular ideas involving the threat of war, such as a

documents proving his theory that Article 9 was

Taiwan emergency is an emergency for Japan, or

proposed by Prime Minister Shidehara. He said thatideas involving hyper-inflated war preparation.

General MacArthur mentions Shidehara’s meetingand the proposal for a Peace Constitution in hisWe want to inherit Prime Minister Shidehara’smemoir. Dr. Horio added that he his research on

strong will for peace and prevent Japan frombecoming a nation of war. Shidehara's words in themessage heard by the current prime minister,film touched me deeply that the best guarantee toFumio Kishida.

stop war is to have no weapons and that the common(Translated by Toshikazu Izumi)

enemy of the world is war itself. I want to make this"Putting Forth All Efforts to Protest Against Military Power Expansion"
Munakata A9A Group, Fukuoka Prefecture
Munakata City, is a provincial city located between two major cities,
Fukuoka and Kitakyushu with a population of about 100,000. Our A9A group
was established in 2005, and for the past 18 years, we have been dedicatedto opposing policies that undermine the constitution and strengthen themilitary, as seen in the Koizumi and Abe administrations. Currently, we areworking hard to protest against the Kishida Cabinet's aim to expand militarycapabilities.
Despitetheinternational conflicts.

pandemic, we have continued to hold our monthly
committee meetings and collaborate with otherWe are fully committed to doing our best, despiteorganizations, such as the New Japan Women's

many challenges ahead. One of our primary goals isAssociation, to conduct evening rallies and gather

to collaborate with citizens and organizations tosignatures twice a month at the Munakata railway

prevent the creation of a country that amends itsstation. We have also hosted constitution study

Constitution, expands its military might, andsessions about the Japanese Constitution in theengages in war. Additionally, we aim to unite young

spring and autumn, inviting external lecturers topeople and encourage their active participation inspeak.

our cause.

In February of this year, we organized a significant

Twice, we submitted petitions to the Munakata City

event for the first time in four years - a screening ofCouncil requesting the adoption of a municipal

the documentary film Haribote (Paper Mache). The

opinion urging the national government to ratify thefilm follows a small local TV station's uncovering ofTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

improprieties at a city council in Toyama Prefecture.

Unfortunately, due to opposition from members ofThe event was a success, attracting about 100

the LDP-Komeito coalition, our petitions wereviewers and providing us with a financial boost.

rejected. However, we remain undaunted and are

We are planning to hold a rally on May 3rd toconsidering resubmitting the petition to prepare forcommemorate

thethe76thanniversaryofthesecond

meetingofsignatory

countries,

enactment of the Constitution and protest against

scheduled for fall, 2023. We believe that by working

the Kishida Administration's large-scale military

togetherbuild-up strategy. Our goal is to raise awarenessorganizations across the country, we can continue

about the potential dangers of this policy and to urge

advocating for a peaceful and nuclear-free world.

the government to prioritize peaceful solutions to(Deputy Director, Masayuki Nagata, Secretariat)(Translated by Sadao Hiroyama)

withlike-minded

individualsand[END]