Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Around 1,500 people rallied in Tokyo on Thursday against increases in the military budget and defense programs planned by the government.

Opposition groups gathered at Hibiya Hall in downtown Tokyo along with activists from trade unions and civic groups. A number of political opponents to the government of Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio spoke out against the government’s defense plans, which, they say, include the possibility of pre-emptive attacks on enemy bases.

The demonstrators marched towards Japan’s parliament, where opponents of Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party supported them in their campaign to protect Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which prohibits war.

The government has said it plans to increase the number of long-range missiles bought from the United States and others manufactured in Japan.

A parliamentarian from the Reiwa Shinsengumi party criticized the decision, arguing that many Japanese women were struggling to meet their material needs and that many Japanese children still live in poverty.

It is believed that the defense budget has already reached 2 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product.