Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe warns rally of dangers of bolstering Japan's military
Writer Oe says military changes spell one of biggest dangers in century
Some 3,000 people rallied yesterday in a Tokyo park against government plans to soften Japan's constitutional commitment to pacifism and give its military a more active role.
"By exercising collective self-defence, Japan will directly participate in a war," Oe told the people at the rally. "I'm afraid that Japan's spirit is approaching its most dangerous stage in the past 100 years."
By exercising collective selfdefence, Japan will directly [join] in a war
The protest in central Tokyo came as China called on the United States to restrain ally Japan at the end of talks between the American and Chinese defence chiefs.
A national opinion poll showed growing public opposition to Abe's plans for the Self-Defence Forces. He has argued that Japan needs to reinterpret its post-war pacifist constitution to permit "collective defence" - coming to the aid of an ally that is under attack.
That is not allowed under current readings of Article 9 of the US-imposed constitution, which says Japan forever renounces the use of force as a means of settling international disputes.
Previous governments have held that this means Japan's military may only open fire if fired upon, even if that entails leaving US counterparts in danger on the same battlefield.