· 11 comments · Save ·
News & Current Events Apr 12, 2026 at 1:28 AM

30,000 rally near Diet as protests against Constitution revision gain traction across Japan

Posted by ComprehensiveWin1434

30,000 rally near Diet as protests against Constitution revision gain traction across Japan - The Mainichi
The Mainichi
30,000 rally near Diet as protests against Constitution revision gain traction across Japan - The Mainichi
TOKYO -- Large-scale demonstrations opposing moves to revise the Constitution are continuing across Japan. On the evening of April 8, approximately 30
🚩 Report this post

11 Comments

Sign in to comment — or just click the box below.
🔒 Your email is never shown publicly.
Educational-Art-8515 1 day ago +21
Pacifism only works if you have someone else to fight for yourself while you take the moral high ground.  Japan can't rely on the United States for its defence anymore, so one way or the other that revision is going to go ahead.
21
anonking1181 23 hr ago +7
Yeah that’s not it at all. The US has wanted a more assertive Japan for decades. 50,000 US troops in Japan.
7
PaxDramaticus 1 day ago +5
You do realize that Japan has SDF forces, right? And that they are in the [top 10](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces) of nations' spending as measured by PPP? Plenty of countries operate without invading or attacking other countries. There is no reason Japan must revise its constitution to permit aggression just to protect itself when it already has such a powerful self-defense force.
5
Educational-Art-8515 1 day ago
“Powerful” doesn’t matter if you have to wait to get hit first. That’s a huge disadvantage. Without the US, those limits are a liability. >Plenty of countries operate without invading or attacking other countries. Nobody is arguing Japan needs to start invading random countries. The issue is whether it can act before getting hit, not whether it can wage wars of aggression. Plenty of countries avoid wars because they can strike first if needed which has the ability to defer conflict in the first place.
0
PaxDramaticus 1 day ago +1
>“Powerful” doesn’t matter if you have to wait to get hit first. You appear to have just given away your game and not realized it. "wait to get hit"? Wait for what? You seem to be coming at this with the goal of Japan being in a war, and are framing your opinion about pacifism in terms of how it impacts getting Japan into that war. Personally, I think *thirty-****goddamn****-thousand* famously apolitical Japanese people protesting for maintaining Japanese pacifism is a pretty remarkably clear statement about where the average public opinion on the matter lies. And if Japanese people say they want peace, I don't support outsiders demanding they change on an issue that is clearly very important to them.
1
Educational-Art-8515 1 day ago +1
That’s a mischaracterisation of the argument. Pointing out that Japan can’t rely on a strictly reactive posture isn’t “wanting war,” it’s acknowledging how modern deterrence works under current threat conditions. As the saying goes in Chinese strategic thought “In peaceful times, prepare for war” (居安思危). the point is precisely that preparation is what preserves peace, not what undermines it. The issue isn’t about wanting conflict, it’s about ensuring deterrence holds under pressure from capable regional military powers. >pretty remarkably clear statement about where the average public opinion on the matter lies Japan has a population of 122m. The protest is a rounding error. The reality is that the latest polling shows that 55% oppose changing Article 9, This has been on a constant erosion from the 70% opposition level seen in the 2010s.
1
PaxDramaticus 15 hr ago
> it’s acknowledging how modern deterrence works under current threat conditions. You have zero evidence that Japan's SDF is inadequate for the defense of the nation. >As the saying goes in Chinese strategic thought “In peaceful times, prepare for war”  Please, I'm begging you: think before you post. WTF do you think the JSDF is if not a preparation for someone to attack them? The only thing that is unusual about Japan's situation is that Japan can't attack *first*, and it tells us a lot about the people who are bothered by Japanese people legally banning their country from being an aggressor. >The reality is that the latest polling shows that 55% oppose changing Article 9,  Nothing supports an argument like vaguely waving your hands at the word "poll" and asking your audience to just trust you on it, amirite? You have no evidence. You have no argument. Admit it: you just hate the word "pacifist" and jumped to a bunch of inaccurate conclusions the moment you saw it. And now that you're quoting Chinese proverbs at me at though they were logical support, it is time to end this conversation. Nothing of value or interest is going to come from continuing to interact. Have a nice day.
0
anonking1181 23 hr ago -1
Another big part of it is being able to export weapons and take part in regional training with pacific allies.
-1
AlternativeScratch94 1 day ago -10
I do think they should militarize but in terms of relying on the US I think Japan is fine there. China is the US main rival, Russia is not even close so it's not quite the same situation as Europe. There's absolutely no way the US would ever let China get Japan, not because of some noble morals but just because that would be a serious threat to the US.
-10
Anagittigana 1 day ago +4
Only the Sith and idiots deal in absolutes.
4
sexisfun1986 1 day ago -4
So history hasn’t ended? /S 
-4
← Back to Board