TOKYO, June 24 — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was heckled at a World War II memorial event by protesters angry about Tokyo’s further shift away from its decades-long pacifist stance, television footage showed.
Close US ally Japan in April loosened rules on lethal arms exports and Takaichi, long seen as a security hawk who last year riled China with comments about Taiwan, has said she wants to revise the constitution.
A small but vocal number of demonstrators shouted slogans throughout Takaichi’s speech on Tuesday at an event commemorating the 81st anniversary of the end of the savage 1945 Battle of Okinawa in which some 200,000 Japanese died.
The jeers included “No to war!” and “Protect Article 9!”, a reference to a clause in Japan’s constitution that renounces war, the footage showed.
“Whenever I reflect upon the regret of all those who perished in the war and the grief of the bereaved families, my heart is filled with profound sorrow,” Takaichi said in the address.
“Under our unwavering pledge never again to repeat the devastation of war, Japan has steadfastly moved forward on this path as a nation that places the highest value on peace,” she said.
Okinawa in southern Japan is also a major base for the US military – long a source of unease among locals – and could be on the frontline in any future conflict with China over nearby Taiwan.
Recent months have seen regular protests about the shifts in policy under Takaichi, which have also prompted an angry response from China which accuses Japan of reviving its wartime “militarism”.
Following its World War II defeat in 1945, Japan has maintained a pacifist stance, with its army restricted to defensive operations.
In recent years however, Japan has moved to obtain “counterstrike” capabilities while hiking military spending and deepening security cooperation with regional allies including the Philippines.
This has accelerated under Takaichi, who last November sparked fury from China by suggesting that Japan might intervene militarily in any Chinese attempt to take Taiwan.
China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it, has advised its citizens to avoid Japan and imposed trade restrictions. — AFP
