Dear Friends and Supporters of Article 9,

We are delighted to send you an update on the future of the Global Article 9 Campaign and to share information on Article 9-related developments that have occurred in recent weeks.

As the G8 Summit was held in Japan's Lake Toya early July, civil society members from Japan and around the world gathered in Hokkaido. The Global Article 9 Campaign also traveled there to report the outcomes of the Global Conference that took place in May, and monitor the summit from the perspective of Article 9's principles of disarmament for development, and peace as a human right.

A workshop was held as part of the People's (Alternative) Summit in Sapporo, focusing on A World Without War - the Role of the G8 and Japan's Peace Constitution.

Speakers from Peace Boat, the Foundation for Human Rights in Asia, the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace and a special guest from Action Aid Bangladesh shared the outcomes of the Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War, and participated in a lively discussion on the significance of the campaign for both Japanese domestic politics and the broader international peace movement. Debate ranged from topics as varied as the role of the media, links between war and poverty, and how pacifism is seen from conflict regions. Rashed Al Titumir of Action Aid shared his perspective on the importance of Article 9 as a mechanism for disarmament and peacebuilding, ending with the memorable quote that "there were two important achievements for humanity at the end of World War II. The first is the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the second is Article 9 of Japan's Constitution."

Lobbying activities at the International Media Centre also highlighted Article 9 and its relation to disarmament, non-proliferation and development. The Global Article 9 Conference's statement to the G8, endorsed by the Japan Organizing Committee and key international participants and supporters, was introduced. This statement calls for the G8 countries, who together make up 70% of the world's military expenditure, to reduce the money spent on arms and redirect resources to peace, development and the environment.
(The full statement can be read online here:      http://www.whynot9.jp/doc/G8_Statement_en.pdf)

More information about campaigning at the G8 can be seen on Peace Boat's G8 blog here:
http://g8peaceboat.wordpress.com

Japan has announced it will send Ground Self-Defense Forces to Southern Sudan as part of UNMIS, the UN peacekeeping mission that monitors the 2005 ceasefire agreement. Such dispatch will be the first Japanese full-fledged participation in UN peacekeeping operations since 2002. 

Japan's Foreign Ministry had long been pushing for the dispatch of SDF in Sudan, but the Defense Ministry had been cautious because of safety concerns. But the objections of the Defense Ministry were overruled by the imperative of using the momentum created by the G8 summit, during which African issues were at the top of the agenda. Indeed, Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo announced Japan's contribution to UNMIS peacekeeping operations during UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's visit to Japan, a few days ahead of the summit.  

Reactions to a SDF deployment in Sudan have been varied. In 2002, Japan passed a special law concerning its participation in UN operations, but the constitutionality of the International Peace Cooperation Law is debated, for it substantially departs from the original interpretation of Article 9.
 
In addition, Japan is considering deploying Self-Defense Forces personnel on the ground in Afghanistan and providing airlift cargo as part of its logistic support for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The plan is presented as part of non-military activities of ISAF led by NATO.
 
Such deployment would have to be approved in the Diet when the antiterrorism special law comes up for renewal in January. Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda faced vigorous opposition before being able to renew the so-called Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, which authorizes the Maritime Self-Defense Force to refuel US vessels in the Indian Ocean for their operations in Afghanistan. And in May 2008, a court ruled Japan's Air Self-Defense Forces' airlifting activities from and to Iraq were unconstitutional for they contravened the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.

Several guests and participants to the Global Article 9 Conference have written reports and articles providing their own in-depth and personal account of the conference.

See for example the following publications:

- Frederic Durand, "Japanese Rainbow Gathers Tens of Thousands to Defend" International Peace Bureau (May 2008)

- John Junkerman, "The Global Article 9 Conference: Towards the Abolition of War", Japan Focus (May 25, 2008)

- Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), "Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War Huge Success" (May 14, 2008)

- Nobel Women's Initiative, "Thousands Gather to Support Legislation to Abolish War" (May 6, 2008)

- Alice Slater, "Global Article 9 Campaign to Abolish War Launched in Japan" CommonDreams.org (June 2, 2008)

- Ann Wright, "Japanese People Still Say "No More Wars", truthout (May 5, 2008)