The , previously known as the , is an organization of scholars opposed to Japan's 2015 military legislation, which was founded in June 2015.

History

The Shinzo Abe cabinet pushed for a constitutional amendment in 2015 to allow Japanese military forces to intervene in foreign conflicts, despite popular opposition. As a reaction to that event, Professor Manabu Satō founded the organization in June 2015. The organization has been acting together with the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs) during the summer of 2015, organizing protests against the constitutional changes. As of September 2015, 14,232 scholars across Japan have signed up to join the organization, with more than 32,000 supporters and 100 university groups associated. On September 6, the association and SEALDs together organized a mass rally in

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

, where a total of about 12,000 demonstrators attended. On September 19, the bill was passed by the Diet. Six days later, the organization changed its name to the current name, saying in the name-changing statement that it would "step forward to a movement that will not allow this unconstitutional legislation to be applied and will push for its repeal." On December 20, the organization co-founded the Civil Alliance for Peace and Constitutionalism with the

SEALDs SEALDs, short for , was a student activist organisation in Japan that organised protests against the ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in 2015 and 2016. Its focus was on the security-related bills enacted in 2015 that allow the ...

, Save Constitutional Democracy Japan, Mothers Against War and All Out Action Committee (Sogakari). On October 4, 2020, five years later, Yoshihide Suga refused to approve six scholars (Sadamichi Ashina, Shigeki Uno, Masanori Okada, Ryuichi Ozawa, Takaaki Matsumiya, Yoko Kato) who attended the association to join the

Science Council of Japan The Science Council of Japan (SCJ) is a representative organization of Japanese scholars and scientists in all fields of sciences, including humanities, social sciences, life sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. , president of Toyohashi ...

. Many, including many academics, suspect this rejection of appointment was due to the six academics' opposition to the government's policies, especially the 2015 military legislation. Suga denied that the refusal was politically driven, but gave no specific reason.

References

External links

* {{official 2015 establishments in Japan Academia in Japan Organizations established in 2015 Human rights in Japan