Lawmakers back Japan’s Article 9 for Nobel Prize
Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties are seeking to recommend the Japanese Constitution’s pacifist Article 9 for a Nobel Peace Prize.
A total of 142 lawmakers signed on to support the move, Rep. Won Hye-young of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said during a press conference Wednesday.
The letter of recommendation was delivered to the Nobel Committee through the Norwegian Embassy the same day.
Rep. Lee Ju-young of the ruling Saenuri party, and Reps. Won and Lee Jong-kul of the NPAD initiated the signature collection campaign from Dec. 30 to Jan. 20.
“We believed it can be realistic and practical,” Won said, expressing concerns over Japan’s push for a constitutional revision.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to amend Article 9 of the postwar Constitution, arguing that Japan’s security role should be expanded to allow various military missions including collective self-defense.
Article 9 is a clause that outlaws Japan’s engaging in war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state.
“The National Assembly supports Japan’s Article 9 of the Constitution as a means to secure peace not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in Northeast Asia and the world,” he added.
As the Nobel Prize is only considered for people or organizations, lawmakers recommended Naomi Takasu, a founder of the campaign, along with the Constitution’s war-renouncing article, be awarded the honor.
The 37-year-old Japanese mother of two children formed a campaign group called the “Organizing Committee for the Nobel Peace Prize for Article 9 of the Constitution,” and collected about 24,000 signatures in 2013.
She also sent its letter of nomination to the Nobel Committee in the name of the Japanese people who supported Article 9 in April of last year. After failing to honor the prize in 2014, she renewed the Nobel attempt this year.
The Korean bureau of the committee became part of the movement by initiating the campaign in Korea in December.
Campaigners hope if the Nobel Committee honors those backing Article 9, it would fuel the civil movement to preserve the Constitution.
Abe has talked about the constitutional amendment since he was re-elected in December.
Last week, the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) e xpressed hopes t o s t a r t t a l ks with ot her parti e s a s e a r l y a s March to lay the groundwork for revision. It is expected to produce a draft of constitutional amendments with potential cross-party backing.