![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UJ-Journalism-Fund-Insider-1.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nWant more news and views from Japan? Donate $5\/month ($60 one-time donation) to the Unseen Japan Journalism Fund<\/a> to join Unseen Japan Insider. You’ll get our Insider newsletter with more news and deep dives, a chance to get your burning Japan questions answered, and a voice in our future editorial direction.<\/p>\n However, the so-called \u201cpenlight demos,\u201d to date, have been orderly, peaceful, and well-organized. Protestors waved large glowsticks as speakers led them in anti-war slogan chants. Other speakers took to the main stage podium to elucidate the reasons why Japan needs to stay out of the Iran War. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, a small cadre of volunteer staff patrolled the lines along with police, ensuring that demonstrators stayed on task. They served as a welcome, friendly contrast to the gruff officers focused on keeping protestors confined to their officially sanctioned spaces.<\/p>\n Protecting Article 9<\/p>\n The successful protests are the work of the group We Want Our Future<\/a>. The heart of their mission: protecting Article 9 of Japan\u2019s Constitution<\/a>. <\/p>\n Article 9 is the Constitution\u2019s \u201cno war\u201d clause. It prevents Japan from engaging in armed conflict overseas, restricting its military to a self-defense posture. The article doesn\u2019t even explicitly mention the country\u2019s existing Self Defense Force, which it instituted in 1954. The restriction means that Japan has been unable to supply troops or munitions for conflicts such as the Iraq or Ukraine wars, limiting the SDF to offering nothing more than logistical support.<\/p>\n For years, Japan\u2019s right-wing has wanted to revise Article 9 to change this. Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae\u2019s mentor, (very) former PM Abe Shinz\u014d<\/a>, made revising the clause a key policy goal. <\/p>\n The problem for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)<\/a> is that, while the party desperately wants to wage war abroad, the Japanese public isn\u2019t so sure. Support for revising the Constitution has never been strong. An NHK poll in 2018, for example, found that 29% supported the revision while 27% opposed it. <\/p>\n However, opposition to the change has faded in recent years. In the same NHK poll in 2025, 39% supported changing the Constitution, with only 17% opposed. The number of people who were unsure continued to hover around 39%. <\/p>\n The Iran War remains deeply unpopular in Japan<\/p>\n Takaichi, following in her mentor\u2019s footsteps, has been pushing to revise Article 9 to explicitly mention the Self Defense Force and to enable Japan to take an offensive role in foreign conflicts. She\u2019s also pushing to \u201crevise\u201d its stance against nuclear weapons and to lessen restrictions on weapons exports. <\/p>\n Planning a trip to Japan? Get an authentic, interpreted experience from Unseen Japan Tours<\/a> and see a side of the country others miss!<\/p>\n The Iran War seems the perfect opportunity to push for the change. The US and Israel\u2019s sudden assault on Iran led to the country closing the Hormuz Strait, a vital channel for the world\u2019s energy. Japan gets 80% to 90% of its petroleum, and around 6.3% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG), through the Strait.<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump has vacillated between telling Iran to \u201copen the fucking Strait\u201d and telling other countries that, since the US doesn\u2019t depend on the Strait for many natural resources, it\u2019s their responsibility to open it. That would seem to put the onus on Japan for cleaning up Trump\u2019s mess. <\/p>\n That\u2019s not something most people in Japan want, however. A snap poll after the war started showed that 82% of those asked opposed it<\/a>. Only 9% expressed support.<\/p>\n If Takaichi thought that Iran closing the Strait would give her an opening, she appears to be mistaken. A recent Kyodo poll shows that 64% of those asked oppose revising Article 9 to allow Japan to enter the fray. <\/p>\n Public opinion could shift, of course. For now, however, the message of peace espoused by anti-war protesters appears to be landing.<\/p>\n Sources<\/p>\n \u61b2\u6cd5\u6539\u6b63\u53cd\u5bfe\u30c7\u30e2\u3001\u5168\u56fd\u3078\u9023\u5e2f\u306e\u8f2a\u5e83\u304c\u308b\u3000\u56fd\u4f1a\u524d\u306b\u306f3\u4e07\u4eba. Mainichi Shimbun<\/a><\/p>\n \u61b2\u6cd5\u300c\u6539\u6b63\u304c\u5fc5\u8981\u300d39\uff05\u300c\u6539\u6b63\u306f\u5fc5\u8981\u306a\u3057\u300d17\uff05 NHK\u4e16\u8ad6\u8abf\u67fb. NHK News<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/P1100636.jpg\")
At the March 10th protest, a protester holds up a sign demanding Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae to resign. The sign also demands that the government apologize for the Self Defense Forces service member who recently stormed the Chinese Consulate. (Picture: Emily Boon)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/P1100590.jpg\")
An anti-war sign at the March 10th demonstration labels Japan\u2019s Takaichi, the US\u2019s Donald Trump, and Israel\u2019s Benjamin Netanyahu as fascists. (Picture: Emily Boon)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uj-tours-unseen-seen-12-2024.png\"\/)
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