February 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 December
2022. 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 February 20th, 2023

English version No. 266

Massive military expansion and constitutional change are the path to war!
Let's bring our voices of absolute opposition to the Diet!
On January 23rd a Diet regular session
started that will have a major impact on thecourse of Japan.
KishidaAt the end of last year, theAdministration

madeacabinet

decision to revise three national securityrelated

documents.

TheJapan-U.S.

2+2

meeting of foreign and defense ministers on
January 11th, and the Japan-U.S. summit on
January 13th, included promises to redefine theJapan-U.S. military alliance, raising Japan’s

defense policy that is only barely sustained bycommitment to a literal war-making alliance.

Article 9 of the Constitution. It is nothing lessthan an outrageous act of disregard for thepeople of Japan and the Diet.
In this Diet session, Article 9 Associationand citizens must encourage members ofparliament to squarely question the pros andconsof

theproposed

acquisitionofcounterattack capability and massive military
expansion. Then we must encourage parliament
members to oppose the transformation of theJapan-U.S. military agreements into a warmaking alliance. We should make it clear that
We have warned before: expansion of
military forces and constitutional changes arethis is not the way to secure peace in Japan andAsia. (Translated by Kastsuyuki Nara)

the path to war. The series of major changes ismore than a major reversal of the exclusive[Statement of A9A Secretariat (issued on January 23rd 2023)]
This Diet session will be a critical showdown

spending in the FY 2011 budget, pursuing athat will determine the future course of Japan.

policy of massive military expansion amounting

The Cabinet attempts to increase defense

to 43 trillion yen over the next five years.

joint announcement and the summit meeting a
joint statement to follow it.
The announcement and statements firstly
branded China as the "greatest strategicchallenge," North Korea as a "serious threat,"and Russia as a "serious security threat to theEuropean region”. This makes these three
countries de facto virtual targets of the U.S.Japan alliance. The announcement details
specific measures to strengthen the alliance.
These include creation of a joint U.S.-Japan
commandOn

December

24,

2011,

theCabinet

betweenpost,
theincreased

two

joint

militaries,

exercises

closerjoint

approved a budget for the next fiscal year

operations, and joint operations in the space

totaling 6,821.9 billion yen for defense spending,and cyber domains. (Translated by Katsuyuki

including the massive purchase of TomahawkNara)

missiles. The U.S.-Japan 2+2 meeting issued aProvisional A9A Groups’activities are given below .
A Screening Event of “Lighting a Spark of Hope in the Wilderness”

Toyonaka A9A Group, Osaka Prefecture
Since launching in 2005, our Toyonaka A9A
has been regularly active until the Coronavirus

35 years until he was assassinated in December
2019.

pandemic stopped face-to-face interaction. OurIn support of the showing we used the lobby

fresh start was our first invitational event: ato arrange a 50-panel exhibition explaining

showing of the documentary Light a Spark of

Peace Japan Medical Services, known in Japan

Hope in the Wilderness. This documentary

ascovers Dr. Tetsu Nakamura’s life.

Nakamura's books and DVDs and sold hand-This Japanese doctor devoted his life toaiding people in Pakistan and Afghanistan forPeshawar-kai.

madeWealso

displayedaccessories embroidered byDr.

Afghanwomen.
Thankstothesupportof

Toyonakamunicipal government, over 180 citizens packed
the venue. Proceeds from admissions, sales ofAfghan-crafted

accessories,anddonations

resulted in a ￥205,438 sent to the Peshawar
Society.
We feel assured that the film gave courage
and inspiration to the viewers. In their writtencomments, viewers commented: “People aroundme say that using military force is necessary tofight back. But watching the film gave me theDr. Tetsu Nakamura

courage to say with confidence that we should

act differently.” “After watching the film, I was

Afghanistan, PMS is carrying on the legacy ofreminded of the need to raise awareness of theDr. Nakamura.

global climate change.” “I now understand why

We citizens of Japan should continue toA9A is showing the film about Dr. Nakamura.”support the Afghan people as much as we can.

Threeyears

have

passedsinceDr.

We suggests to other A9A groups that it would

Nakamura lost his life to a bullet. Now thebe a positive step to screen the film in local A9A

Afghan people are suffering from a triple

events.

hardships: drought, economic sanction, and(Reported by Mikio Matsuoka・ Translated byoppression under the Taliban regime. InSadao Hiroyama)

Story of the English Edition of A9A Official Newsletter
Shin-Eiken A9A, Tokyo
The New English Teachers Association (orcommonly termed as Shin-Eiken) was createdin 1959. One of Shin Eiken A9A’s major
projects has been volunteering to translate andmake available an online English edition of themonthly official A9A Newsletter. We launched
on July 5, 2006, with the first edition. OnDecember 28, 2022 we were pleased to present
the 264th issue of the English edition.
If readers are seeing this post elsewhere,
here is how to check out the newsletter: click on[English version of the "Article 9 Association"bulletin and news] which appears in the middleoftheArticle

9Association

homepage( http://www.9-jo.jp/ ) to see the English version.
Currently the project is being maintained bythree Japanese and one American, all Shin
Eiken A9A members. When the A9A secretariat
uploads their newsletter to their website once or
twice a month, we translate between three andfivearticles,presenting

anoverview

ofstatements from the A9A Secretariat, alerts andshared news, and action reports from local A9A
groups in different prefectures and professions.
After editing, the completed version hasillustrations added and is uploaded to thewebsite..
Crucial to this process is our online editorial
meeting, a forum we use to exchange specialist
vocabulary, confirm information based on public

Monthly Magazine of Shin-Eiken
sources, and discuss and share our translation
choices. Members live in Tokyo, Nagoya, andHokkaido, so online meetings are a must. Whena meeting is not required, we share importanttranslation choices and their reasons online
before uploading the final version.
It need not be said that of course weregularly participate in standing actions, street
rallies, leaflet distribution, signature collection
and other campaigns in our regions. We areunified to a common goal: Let’s fight together todefend Article 9 of the Constitution!
We run a weblog, “For Peaceful Japan, throughArticle 9” which explains more about the issueof defending the Peace Constitution. Check out
our site at https://teamevn.tumblr.com/ !
Posted by Katsuyuki Nara. Translated byToshikazu Izumi)

[END]