The Global Article 9 Campaign is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year! During that time, the Campaign has been successfully promoting peace constitutions and advocating for the abolition of war in Japan and around the world. To commemorate this fifth anniversary, throughout this year we will be looking back on the start of the Global Article 9 Campaign and how it has changed since 2005.
Below is the excerpt of an interview on the Campaign’s beginnings and evolution with Kawasaki Akira, Executive Committee Member of Peace Boat and Secretary General of the Japan Organizing Committee of Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War held in May 2008.
Question: How did the idea of the campaign emerge?
Kawasaki: The campaign began in 2005, I remember, at the occasion of the global conference of the NGO network the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict. It is an international NGO network starting from 2002 and focusing on how to prevent armed conflict and how to shape the focus in the security debate from reaction of the conflict to prevention of the conflict. In that, global NGOs and Northeast Asian NGOs gathered and discussed ways to prevent armed conflicts, and in that discussion, many groups that participated from outside of Japan recognized the value of the Japanese Article 9 in that character of non-militarism, non-violence, and the action agenda adopted by the network formally recognized the value of Article 9 as the foundation of Asia/Pacific peace. I was part of that process, and we Japanese members were so inspired in the discussion, because usually we thought that Article 9 was a domestic, legal, political issue. But it was a fresh experience for us to hear very positive remarks about our Article 9 from the international and global scope. So, inspired by that, we discussed with colleagues, especially in Northeast Asia, neighboring countries, and NGO groups and launched that campaign.
Question: Initially, what were the core mission, issues and goals of the Campaign?
Kawasaki: Very simply: globalizing Article 9. The concept of Article 9 was the core mission. To make Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution known to the people of the world, literally known to the people in the world, was one mission. Also, to share its spirit, for example, peaceful settlement of disputes and peaceful prevention of disputes. And also shifting resource allocation from military to human needs and highlighting the rights to live in peace. And, lastly, creating international peace mechanisms made from non-military ways. Those concepts and spirits we shared and implemented by countries in the world. That’s the core mission.
Question: How has the Campaign evolved and changed since its inception?
Kawasaki: I think at the starting point it was a very Asia/Pacific focused initiative. But as time goes by and as it progresses, especially in the process of having the Article 9 conference in 2008, where nearly 200 participants from more than 40 countries gathered, it has become truly global and not limited to an Asia/Pacific focus. In the Asia/Pacific focus, the discussion tends to become how to curb Japanese militarization. It is one very important point. But by having, let’s say Latin American participation or European participation or even African participation, the scope became really diverse and deep and really global.
Question: Why do you think it is important to focus on peace constitutions?
Kawasaki: Because it’s getting more and more relevant in the contemporary world. Because we see increasing failures by traditional militaristic approaches to solutions to the world. Look at Iraq. Look at Afghanistan. All of those, or the War on Terror. Nearly a decade has passed since the US start of the War on Terror, but we see increases of the terrorism, increases of the violence. So, the people are realizing that this approach is not the best solution and more and more military spending is questionable, especially in light of this serious economic recession. So, as an alternative to this political and economic trend in the first decade of the 21st century, having a peace constitution is important not from a legal perspective but rather for presenting an alternative to the political and economic system of the world.
Question: When you talk about peace constitutions, what do you mean?
Kawasaki: It’s a very broad concept, but any constitution that refers to peace can be said to be a peace constitution. Some people in Japan say that the Japanese peace constitution is the peace constitution because, it’s true that the Japanese peace constitution is very strict because it does not allow use of force in general. For example, when we look at the Ecuadorian constitution, it is talking about the ban of foreign military bases, but not its own military base. Its own military base is allowed. Or for example, if we talk about the Italian constitution, Article 11 refers to the non-aggression, and Korean constitution also refers to non-aggression, so it is similar to (Japan’s) Article 9.1, which refers to non-aggression. But we have section 2 of renouncing armed forces. So, some people criticize Italian or Korean’s (as) really limited, but I would say that all of those should be included as peace constitutions and should be diverse versions and all united as, you can say, peace constitutions.
Question: With that said, do you have an ideal type of peace constitution, and if you do, what is it?
Kawasaki: My sense is that I don’t want to have such kind of legal approach, because I think the peace constitution process is important. I think each constitution should have some shortages. Maybe the Japanese is very good in the text, but the biggest shortage in the Japanese constitution is the gap with the reality, as you know. So, it’s very easy to criticize the Japanese constitution from that perspective. Even pointing out that gap, I still see the value in the Japanese constitution. How to broaden that class style or compilation of fragmented constitutions where each of them has shortages. Broadening them as an international movement to increase and deepen the peace constitution is very important, so I don’t want to take such an approach to identify or define the best peace constitution.
Question: Ok, so what should be the minimum traits or characteristics of a peace constitution?
Kawasaki: The minimum characteristics should be to deny or to seriously doubt militaristic approach(es) to the problems of the country or the problems of the world. That’s the minimum part.
This interview is part of a series of interviews with leaders, supporters, and conference participants of the Global Article 9 Campaign conducted by former Peace Boat and Global Article 9 Campaign intern Jay Gilliam.
Jay Gilliam is currently carrying out research on the Global Article 9 Campaign and peace constitutions around the world. He is enrolled in a Master’s Program in Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution at International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.