Japanese protesters rally against Takaichi government's military buildup, constitutional revision

Japanese citizens rallied in front of the National Diet in Tokyo on Monday evening, opposing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push for a military buildup and constitutional revision. Protesters chanted slogans including “Stop blindly following the United States” and “Stop deploying long-range missiles,” and called for Takaichi to step down. Organisers said about 10,000 people attended and more than 300 solidarity events were held across Japan. Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima urged efforts to prevent the House of Representatives from starting work on proposed amendments, criticizing changes to proportional-representation seat allocations. She also cited Japan-U.S. joint exercises as evidence of advancing militarization. Japanese Communist Party official Taku Yamazoe warned missile deployments won’t bring peace.