Large protest held in Tokyo against gov’t military expansion policies

TOKYO, June 14– A large number of Japanese people took to the streets in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon to protest a series of military expansion policies recently pursued by the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Demonstrators, many wearing helmets bearing the words “Anti-war” and “Peace,” chanted slogans such as “No to constitutional revision” and “Stop war.”

Organizers said that the Japanese government, while touting the country as a “peace-loving nation,” has continued to strengthen the Japan-U.S. security alliance, expand the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), and accelerate its push toward remilitarization, warning that such moves could lead Japan down the path toward war.