the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
May 18, 2026
This article is translated from the May 15 issue, #3015 of Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle), the paper of the Trotskyist group of that name active in France.
Nearly 50,000 people in Tokyo and thousands more in other cities in Japan demonstrated on May 3 against war and the militarization of Japan.
This mobilization follows others since the beginning of the year, such as on March 19 when Donald Trump visited Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Takaichi represents the most nationalist wing of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955. On taking office last October, she accelerated the country’s rearming. She has striven not to antagonize Trump since the start of the U.S. war against Iran, even though Japan depends heavily on oil imported from the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused by the U.S. attack has had serious consequences for Japan’s economy. Trump cited Japan among the countries that he thinks should do more to ensure freedom of passage through the Strait of Hormuz instead of “making the U.S. do it all.” Takaichi cited Japan’s constitution and responded that Japan cannot do everything it wants while still complying with the law.
The May 3 demonstrations commemorated the entry into effect of Japan’s constitution in 1947. It was drafted under American occupation and stipulates that Japan renounces war and will not maintain offensive armed forces. In fact, this piece of paper did not stop the creation of a genuine army, the “Japan Self-Defense Forces,” which has around 250,000 active-duty troops and tens of thousands of reservists, plus submarines, fighter jets, and anti-missile systems.
Japan has an army like any other country does, but it is cloaked in symbolic legal restrictions. In seeking to amend the constitution, Takaichi aims to take a step toward formalizing this national army and facilitating its participation in military alliances and in armed conflicts. This reform policy follows massive rearming and nonstop increases in the military budget, at the expense of social programs.
Protesters chanted slogans like “Hands off the constitution,” “No one should be sent to war,” and “Money for public services, not for weapons,” to express their refusal to be drawn into current and future wars. Japan endured terrible destruction during World War II, including the two U.S. atomic bombs in 1945. A significant portion of the population refuses to let a new generation suffer the atrocities of war.