July 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 inJanuary 2024 It is published by Katsuyuki Nara of the New English Teachers Association (orShin-Eiken, http://www.shin-eiken.com/) and Sarah Brock. The translation is on our own．
Uploaded on February10th

English version No. 278

Let's make 2024 a year to reverse the tide of war, military expansion, and constitutional
revision!
In 2024, wars in Ukraine and Palestine continued, affecting people around the world.
Domestically, the LDP's deep-seated corruption was being exposed almost on a daily basis.
The New Year’s Day Noto Peninsula Earthquake, which claimed numerous casualties ofpeople and the loss of houses, animals, and livelihoods was a dark beginning to the year.
Amidst these events, Prime Minister Kishida is maintaining an unwaveringcommitment to military expansion and constitutional revision. In his policy speech during
the regular Diet session on January 30, he stated, "My commitment to constitutional
revision during my term remains unchanged," and he expressed eagerness for the"concretization of constitutional text" in the current Diet session.
In response, the Article 9 Association issued a statement from its secretariat, urging
caution against the LDP's plan for a constitutional review committee. Additionally, on
February 22 (Thursday), the All-Out Action Implementation Committee, in collaboration
with others, planned an emergency in-house gathering titled "Constitutional Review
Committee Now!" at the House of Representatives First Members' Office Building.
The event featured speeches by Mutsuko Asakura and Ken Takada, aiming to rally joint
opposition to constitutional revision. The secretariat is urging everyone to use their voices
and collective strength as citizens to halt the momentum of war, military expansion, andconstitutional revision.
For members and groups working on A9A issues locally:•The statement from the Article 9 Association secretariat is included in this issue.
Please make use of it.
The 213th Regular Session of the National Diet has commenced. Corruption accusations

within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have come to light one after another,
triggered by the clandestine fund issues related to factional party tickets since the end of lastyear. Additionally, problems within the Kishida administration have been exposed, such as theconcealment of the seriousness of the Shiga Nuclear Power Plant incident during the responseto the Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year's Day,. The current Diet session, held against
this backdrop, must rigorously investigate the corruption and issues of the Kishidaadministration, scrutinizing the problems associated with the factional party tickets and thecover-up of the significance of the Shiga Nuclear Power Plant incident.

Since the start of the Kishida administration, there has been a surge in constitutional
amendment efforts, alongside an unprecedented expansion of military capabilities. Following
the establishment of solidarity between citizens and the constitutional opposition parties in2016, the Constitution Examination Committee, which had not allowed to commence practicaloperation until then, discussed the relationship between the emergency "online parliament" andArticle 56 of the Constitution in 2022.

However, it is not assumed that a situation would arise where nationwide elections
become impossible in the case of natural disasters or infectious diseases. There is also no
reason to postpone the essential exercise of the people's sovereign right to vote and allow
the "entrenchment" of incumbent politicians and the government in power.
At the Constitutional Review Committee of the House of Representatives, the rulingparty's top secretary, Hajime Nakatani, and others proposed “…to establish a body fordrafting specific articles and begin the stage of drafting articles [of a revised constitution]”.
They made their proposal on the grounds that there is almost a consensus on the emergency
clause and the inclusion of the Self-Defense Forces in Article 9. However, the differencesin opinion among the various factions are not small, and Nakatani's proposal is a dangerous
attempt to force the drafting of an article in a “secret room” environment.
In order to prevent such attempts, to protect the pacifism of Article 9 of theConstitution and continued healthy function of parliamentary democracy, it is absolutely
necessary for voices outside the Diet, including those of the Article 9 Caucus, to strongly
support the efforts of the constitutional opposition parties in the Constitutional Review
Board. To this end, let us vigorously strengthen the movement of the Article 9 Associationin various parts of Japan and in various fields as the Diet opens.

[Your articles are Welcome] -- Request from the Secretariat
And we also invite you to submit article manuscripts (700 words each in Japanese) for the A9A newsletter
about the recent efforts that your groups have made to stop the change of the Constitution.
We are looking forward to your articles.
[END]