Just before July started, Japan had a very busy weekend. There was a protest against the government´s push to involve Japan in war.    

In 1945, Japan lost the WWII and they included a new clause, The Article 9 in the Japanese constitution. There states, "the state formally renounces the sovereign right of belligerency and aims at an international peace based on justice and order. The article also states that, to accomplish these aims, armed forces with war potential will not be maintained" (Wikipedia)

After nearly 70 years, Japanese government starting doubt about keeping the Article 9. The PM Abe has pushed the change farther. The nation stood up to protest despite of the higher chance that their voice won´t reach.

Tons of people gathered in front of the residence of the prime minister. I don´t know entire Japanese people but many are definitely against getting involved in wars. 

A Japanese woman who lives in Berlin and is the mother of 3-year-old boy recently told me that she wants him to get a European nationality so that the Japanese government can´t oblige him to go to war. 

In the same weekend, a man set himself on fire in Shinjuku. He was also protesting the government´s move towards war involvement. 

It´s sad that he had to burn himself to get attention of the authority but it´s a sign that people are that desperate. 

Then came out a book online. The original title "How to make a war (戦争の作り方/sensou no tsukurikata)" by Ribbon-Project. From the outside, it looks like a children´s book but when you start reading, it explains good enough for adults. 

This book was written based on the War-contingency set in 2004, laws and regulations, which were already issued, and the parliamentary statements from all this time. Is this the process Japan is marching to? I am worried and scared. While a Japanese housewife asked the Nobel Committee that the Article 9 of the Japanese constitution to get a Nobel prize, the same Japan is trying to eliminate this clause. 

I guess this book applies to any country when they are trying to entre a war. It´s a shame that the world has become more globalised now and we still have to think of fighting against each other.

If you click the book, you can read it in English, "What Happens Before War".

It´s also available in Chinese and Korean from this page. 

More about Japanese Constitution

Constitution day