Thousands of anti war protestors surrounded the Japanese Parliament in the capital Tokyo in March 29, 2016. They were expressing the opposition of the Japanese people to the new security laws passed by the Abe government that allows the Japanese military to engage in conflicts abroad. On the same day thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in at least 100 other cities of Japan to mark their protest.
The present Japanese government of Shinzo Abe is relentlessly marching on the road of militarizing and preparing for war in pursuit of its imperialist aims. This is being carried out in close collaboration with the US imperialists, who are actively encouraging the Japanese government in this course. In the pivot to Asia policy of US imperialism which is aimed at the conquest of Asia, the US has marked out an important role for Japan. The US wants the service of the Japanese armed forces, particularly its Navy, in the wars of conquest it is already engaged in, or is planning to launch in the near future.
The Japanese governments new pro-war laws had been approved by the Japanese parliament in December 2015, even as millions of Japanese people expressed their opposition to them. On March 29, 2016, these laws came into force. These laws allow the Japanese armed forces to participate in wars overseas, under the name that its allies are under attack. In other words, the Japanese armed forces will be at the service of the US imperialists.
The government of Shinzo Abe insists external forces are threatening the national interests of the state and its close allies. It says those threats need to be confronted abroad before they reach the homelands of Japan and the United States. Grave provocations are being continuously organized by the US against North Korea. All indications are that the US military is preparing to launch a major war in East Asia openly threatening and practicing a surprise first-strike nuclear attack against North Korea. The Japanese government has been busy preparing the conditions to justify its active participation in such a reactionary war.
The broadening of the Japan/U.S. aggressive military alliance to include war games, war preparations and active joint participation in global predatory wars is strongly opposed by people throughout Japan. It is also being opposed by people in East Asia and South East Asia, who have suffered so much at the hands of Japanese militarism in the past.
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