January–March 2008, Volume 35
Features
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution
The Debate over Constitutional Revision and Japan’s International Contribution
by Takeshi Kawabata
With a view to the political stability of Afghanistan and Iraq, Japan’s stance on its international contribution is being widely debated. The Japanese government wants to ensure that the Maritime Self-Defense Force is able to continue supplying fuel and water to U.S. and British naval vessels in the Indian Ocean, but the nation’s opposition parties insist that only activities that come under a UN mandate are permissible if members of the Self-Defense Forces are to be sent abroad, arguing that their recent mission has been unconstitutional. . . .
Japan’s Constitution and International Contributions
by Yoshiaki Sanada
The nation can achieve more by actively giving aid to developing countries and working hard to ease the problems that create breeding grounds for terrorism and violence, eliminating international disputes that are their root causes.
Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution: An Example of Prophetic Realism
by Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz
It would be a tragic error to reverse the document’s pro-peace component on the grounds that it is idealistic or impractical.
The Quest for Peace and Disarmament after World War II
by Jayantha Dhanapala
The author stresses that in these unsettled times, we must reflect on the current dangers to international peace and security and examine what steps have to be taken.
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution: The Foundation of Peace in Asia
by Byun Jin-heung
A leader in religious education on the Korean peninsula fears that a constitutional revision by Japan could portend a dangerous shift to the right.
A Buddhist View of Revising Japan’s Constitution
by Ryumyo Yamazaki
Rather than changing the Constitution to legalize the waging of war, the author believes that Japan should renounce the menace posed by military power and work for peace.
Article 9 and Article 26: Twin Campaigns to Move the World toward Peace and Social Justice
by Colin Archer
Protecting Japan’s no-war Constitution and promoting the UN Charter’s disarmament for development clause must go hand-in-hand.
Rissho Kosei-kai’s Endeavor in Searching for a World of Nonviolence
by Masamichi Kamiya
Rissho Kosei-kai has been engaged in various initiatives in the pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons in collaboration with the UN, while the late Founder Niwano addressed the participants of SSOD II and SSOD III convened by the UN in 1982 and in 1988, respectively. . . .
Maintaining Article 9: Placing Some Limits on National Sovereignty
by Agostino Giovagnoli 24
Some limitations are necessary. We must not turn back, but rather proceed forward. Abandoning principles would in no way help to reach greater international stability
A Buddhist View of Article 9
by Koichi Kita
A Japanese Buddhist who went to school amid a militaristic wartime and who experienced the fear and destruction of repeated air raids explains why Article 9 must be preserved.
The Value of Article 9 for Japan and for All People
by Vernon C. Nichols
Supporters of the article’s retention are challenged to mobilize public opinion, overcoming the attitude brought by the passage of time and the fading memories of the horrors of World War II.
Establishing Priorities That Cut Across National Interests
An Interview with QUNO Geneva Office’s Director David Atwood
Security in the Twenty-first Century
by Robert F. Smylie
The quest for political security can become a danger to religious communities if their values are subordinated or manipulated by the state for its own purposes.
Reflections on an Article 9 Without Borders
by Chuck Overby
An outspoken American critic of the U.S.-led “war on terrorism” offers his strongly felt views on the need to protect Japan’s postwar Constitution for the benefit of the entire globe.
Japan’s Peace Constitution and the Lotus Sutra
An Interview with Rissho Kosei-kai’s Founder Nikkyo Niwano
At the time of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Rissho Kosei-kai’s founder and then president, the late Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, was interviewed about Japan’s postwar Constitution by the organization’s Japanese-language magazine Yakushin. An extract from that interview follows.
Reflections
All Are Precious
by Nichiko Niwano
When we realize that our own life is precious, we also will realize that the lives of others are equally precious.
Essay
The Diamond and the Lotus
by Notto R. Thelle
The truth is like a diamond. It is perfect, like the most precious stone, and cuts through lies and falsehood.
