Tens of thousands of people chanted slogans in opposition to the Japanese government’s plans to increase defense spending and expand weapons exports in a preweekend protest outside Japan’s Diet
According to organizers, some 27,000 people took part in the July 10 protest in Tokyo’s political Nagatacho district, calling out, “People’s livelihoods are being pushed aside,” among other slogans. Holding handmade placards and penlights, they made various appeals including, “Protect our livelihoods.”
The event was organized by the citizens’ group We Want Our Future (WWOF) under the slogan “We protest reckless politics.” Participants gave speeches from a stage and chanted along to music, shouting phrases such as, “Don’t let them rob us of democracy” and “Protect the Constitution.”
A 47-year-old female photographer from Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward, who held up a flag reading “renunciation of war,” commented, “I want them to use tax money for culture and education, not waste it on weapons.”
Some joined the demonstration online. According to the website Demo Calendar, which compiles information on protests nationwide, 136 rallies were scheduled in 44 prefectures as of 8 p.m. on July 10
(Japanese original by Sakae Kato, Digital News Group; video by Yoshiya Goto, Photo and Video Department)
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