Japanese People Still Say "No More War"

Now, 61 years later, the Bush administration is undermining the spirit and intent of Article Nine of the Japanese Constitution by urging the Japanese government to allow the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to provide air and sea logistics assistance to Bush's war on Iraq. Former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage in 2004 complained, "Article Nine is an impediment to the US-Japanese alliance," an alliance the Bush administration wants to use to spread the financial and military operational burden of the war on Iraq.

Over the objections of many Japanese citizens, the Japanese government has provided limited numbers of refueling ships for resupplying American warships and logistic transport aircraft that fly supplies into Baghdad. A recent decision by the High Court of Nagoya found that Japanese Air Self-Defense Force missions into Iraq were unconstitutional as they violated Article Nine.

Eighty percent of the Japanese people want their government to retain their constitutional rejection of war and they are organizing to protect Article Nine. In every city and village in Japan, there is an Article Nine committee that meets frequently to educate the public on the need to retain Article Nine, as it has played an important role in establishing trust relationships between Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, Article Nine is of critical importance for the prevention of conflict and is the "foundation for collective security for the entire Asia-Pacific region."

On May 3, Japanese Constitution Day, tens of thousands of Japanese in Tokyo gathered for a rally and march to protect Article Nine. On May 4, over 8,000 Japanese attending the Global Article Nine Conference to Abolish War listened to speakers from all over the world, including Americans Cora Weiss of the Hague Appeal for Peace, US Army conscientious objector Aidan Delgado and myself, a former US Army colonel and a diplomat who resigned in opposition to the Iraq war, all of whom urged the Japanese people to continue to reject participation in war. 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire called for nations of the world to look toward the Japanese Constitution as a model for preventing armed conflict.

Japanese citizens remembering World War II, as Americans citizens today, know the slippery slope of offensive military actions for political and/or economic objectives. The Bush administration's decision to invade and occupy - without the authorization of the collective international community through the United Nations Security Council - the oil-rich, Arab, Muslim country of Iraq, reminds the Japanese of their invasion of resource-rich countries of Asia 70 years ago. Those actions resulted in a moral, ethical and legal crisis for Japan, as similar actions over the past five years by the United States have brought our country to national crisis.

Many Japanese government officials were tried for war crimes for their actions during World War II.

Holding officials of the American government accountable for their illegal actions in Iraq, for torture and for illegal imprisonment of thousands of innocent men, women and children, is the next step in American and international determination to end illegal wars of choice, and holding those responsible who chose to use bullets rather than words.