Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Around 1,000 Japanese people gathered in front of Japan’s parliament on Thursday to protest against the general policies of Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and particularly his government’s defense policy.

With parliament set to convene next week, the demonstrators, backed by opposition parties, protested against the Kishida government’s plan for defense and security, which includes the purchase of Tomahawk missiles and strengthening defense ties with the US military.

At the demonstration, opposition members of parliament took turns urging the government to abandon its defense program.

Members from the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party took the floor in turn. The Social Democratic Party’s FUKUSHIMA Mizuho criticized the plan to finance the defense budget by increasing taxes and duties.

The Constitutional Democratic Party’s ISHIKAWA Taiga expressed his concerns about the Nansei islets, where missile batteries will be stationed, and the possibility that schools could be bombed in the event of a conflict.

NAKAJIMA Yumiko, a trade unionist from the National Union of General Workers Tokyo who runs a counseling center for women and single mothers, pointed to the effects of inflation on domestic violence, which she says is on the rise, and on poverty issues affecting older people and women.