January 2023 Issue
English Version of the “Article 9 Association (A9A)” Bulletin andNews
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 January 20th ,2023

English version No. 265

Oppose the three Security Treaty documents
We

opposeDocuments
Nationalthethree(NationalDefense

National

Security

Security

Strategy,

Strategy,andDefense

Capability Enhancement Plan) approved by thecabinet meeting on December 16, 2022. If these
documents are ratified, it will represent amajor shift in the course of postwar Japan andcreate a large military expansion budget.1
The cabinet endorsement makes it clear thatthe government is setting a goal of increasingbuildup and tax hikes without listening to themilitary spending over five years to 43 trillion

people. However, most respondents are in favor

yen 1.5 times originally planned. The Kishidaof "strengthening of defense capabilities" andadministration announced a major tax hike to"possession of counterattack capability," which

finance the increased military budget. Clearly

are the main elements of the plan.

the government has abandoned the principle ofexclusive defense. The tax hike and planned

A9A’s mission to convey the dangers of military

massive

withbuildup is ongoing. Along with other citizen’spressure to revise the Constitution, is a majorgroups, A9A will continue asking the public forshift in the government's security and defense

signatures

policy.

Campaign for No Revision of the Constitution.

militarybuildupcombinedontheNationalSignature

We will make it clear to people that peace in
Public opinion polls show strong criticism of theAsia and Japan cannot be realized throughKishidamilitary buildup or Constitutional change. Aadministration'sforcing

militarylarge-scale military budget and huge tax hikeare unacceptable threats and trample on
1

Details can be found in ‘Cabinet approves 3

new security documents to bolster defense’ by
Naoki Matsuyama,
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14794341

people’s peace and livelihoods,.(Translated by

Katsuyuki Nara)

Provincial A9A Group Activities:
Koryo A9A Group in Nara Prefecture
On December 19th Koryo A9A staged the year’s
final 19th– Day Campaign at a shopping mall.

A passerby who signed the petition said, “It’s

It was a snowy, chilly day, but 11 people

unconstitutional for the Cabinet to decide to

distributed leaflets saying, "Revision of theraise

three Security Treaty documents is in effect aexpansion.” Another said, “The Government

constitutional change, and taxpayers' money

should exert itself to resolve issues such as

should be used for people's livelihoods, not forsoaring commodity prices instead of increasing

military expansion.” Participants appealed

the military budget.” The group distributed 63

through loudspeakers, "Let's reject once and forfliers and got 7 signatures in the campaign.

all the massive military buildup and tax hikes(Translated by Katsuyuki Nara)thatarethreatening

ourlivelihood,taxes

tofinance

militarybuildup

theConstitution, and peace.”
Street Rally to Memorialize the Outbreak of the Pacific War[Minabe A9A Group, Wakayama Prefecture]
We members of Minabe A9A staged a street

Navyrally on December 8, the day when the Pacificplunging our country into a quagmire ofWarWe

warfare and causing hellish suffering for huge

distributed flyers to passersby and introduced

numbers of people. In our town Minabe, 814

our activities to one of the local newspapers.

people were killed because of the war.”

On the street, we spoke out to passersby:

Our“Today, December 8, is the day when the Pacificaggression

War broke out in 1941. The Japanese Imperial

unforgivable, there is a trend to strengthening(WWIIPacificTheater)began.

attackedappealPearlHarborcontinued:
into

UkraineinHawaii,“WhileRussia'sisabsolutely

defense forces around the world. Japan is noexception. If Japan strengthens its militarypower, that will only lead to a vicious cycle ofmilitary confrontations. We believe it is theresponsibility of politicians to ensure people
that war will never happen again. We would
like to do whatever possible as citizens toprotect Article 9 of the Constitution, which
stipulates that there shall be no war.”(FromWakayama A9A ’ s newsletter 468)

（Translated by Sadao Hiroyama）
Long-sought Membership of 500 Achieved!

Seikyo A9A, Sapporo City, Hokkaido
Seikyo A9A (Consumers Cooperative Union

long-sought target of 500 members in AugustA9A) in2022, 14 years after the 167 member inaugural

Sapporo, Hokkaido, reacheditsmeeting in 2008.
At the 8th general meeting in 2015, Seiko A9A
was 50 people short of their target 300
members. The turning point came when Shinzo
Abe began his second turn as Prime Minister.
Executive members felt a sense of crisis as thereturned prime minister ignored Article 9 of
the Constitution and adopted the use of theright to collective self-defense, reinterpretinglong-held

LiberalDemocratic

Partygovernments policy that collective self-defense
was unconstitutional. Seikyo A9A determined
tobecome

spearheads

inthemovement

opposing this policy and vowed to intensify
their activities.

they did publicity stunts in front of stores ofCoop Sapporo, jointly with local groups, toincrease public awareness of Abe government
intentions. Second, they created a rainbow flag(the rainbow is also an international symbol of
They

hang

thisflagatlarger-scale peace rallies to let participants beaware of their activities. Third, they produced
new leaflets to recruit new members.

the National Signature Campaign for Noof

theConstitution:

Seikyo A9A set a new membership target figureof 500 with interim goals of 50 new members
each year. Crucial to this effort was thepromise of influential members and executive
members to reach out to friends and colleagues
in their professions. This is why Seikyo A9A
could achieve their goal of 500 members inAugust, 2022.
Seikyo A9A executive member Isao Miyakesays said membership expansion is crucial to

Seikyo A9A changed how they participated inRevision

300 by the 9th general meeting in 2016, adifficult goal for so many years. Encouraged,

Seikyo A9A brainstormed new activities. First,co-operatives).

Through these efforts, member numbers topped

prioritizing

signature sheets. Members sent sheets touniversity co-op associates, group members’
relatives, and their friends and acquaintanceswith postage-paid return envelopes included.
They reached out to retired Co-op Sapporo
members for their help in getting signatures.
[END]

prevent Prime Minister Kishida from enacting
theThreeNational

Security

documents

endorsed by the cabinet in December. He
strongly

criticizedtheendorsementasoutrageous act, as the documents potentiallygreenlight Japan Self-Defense Force attacks on
foreign enemy bases, an act not authorized bythe Constitution. (Translated by ToshikazuIzumi)