{"id":6347,"date":"2014-10-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-to-peace-article-in-constitution\/"},"modified":"2024-12-10T18:38:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T18:38:09","slug":"japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oita, Japan \u2013 On Japanese Constitution Memorial Day, 03 May, fourteen Japanese Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders issued a call against proposed amendments to the Japanese constitution, particularly to article 9, the so-called \u201cpeace article.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the same day, national newspapers released polls showing that proposed amendments to the constitution are gaining support.<\/p>\n

Under article 9 of the constitution, drafted in 1947 by Allied occupation forces and adopted by the national Diet with extensive support of the nation, the \u201cJapanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, article 96 of the constitution states that amendments must pass both national governing bodies with a two-thirds majority and must gain majority support in a national referendum.<\/p>\n

The governing Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is proposing to relax the amendment approval process in article 96. Further, the government is advocating for changes in article 9 \u2013 changes which would create a National Defense Force with fuller military powers than those of the existing Self-Defense Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these developments at a time of unprecedented tensions,\u201d wrote the church leaders, \u201cwe as Anabaptists\/Mennonites who have opposed all wars and have experienced martyrdom among more than a few members must acknowledge that we are being put to the test. As an historical peace church, now is not the time to close our mouths and keep silent. It is time to stand up by the power of our Lord Jesus and say that war is the greatest of sins and that we must not open up any path that would cause our country to engage in war again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church leaders sent their message to Protestant periodicals in Japan and also to periodicals of Anabaptist\/Mennonite churches in North America. (Click here<\/a> for the full text of the message.)<\/p>\n

MWC release<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oita, Japan \u2013 On Japanese Constitution Memorial Day, 03 May, fourteen Japanese Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders issued a call against proposed amendments to the Japanese constitution, particularly to article 9, the so-called \u201cpeace article.\u201d On the same day, national newspapers released polls showing that proposed amendments to the constitution are gaining support. Under […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"network":[],"eventcategory":[],"class_list":["post-6347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJapanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution - Mennonite World Conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution - Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oita, Japan \u2013 On Japanese Constitution Memorial Day, 03 May, fourteen Japanese Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders issued a call against proposed amendments to the Japanese constitution, particularly to article 9, the so-called \u201cpeace article.\u201d On the same day, national newspapers released polls showing that proposed amendments to the constitution are gaining support. Under […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-10T18:38:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"556\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mennworldcon\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"mennworldcon\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/11f6ae0d7d1868ba20a1cc27f067c836\"},\"headline\":\"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-10T18:38:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\"},\"wordCount\":319,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\",\"name\":\"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution - Mennonite World Conference\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-10T18:38:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg\",\"width\":556,\"height\":440,\"caption\":\"Two japanese men in a church below a wooden cross.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Mennonite World Conference\",\"description\":\"A communion of Anabaptist-related churches\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"MWC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mennonite World Conference\",\"alternateName\":\"MWC\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg\",\"width\":786,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"Mennonite World Conference\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mennonite-world-conference-mwc\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mwcmm\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/mwccmm\",\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/mwcmm.bsky.social\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/11f6ae0d7d1868ba20a1cc27f067c836\",\"name\":\"mennworldcon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06fdc0dc81c157dfdb82ec42f252178a22307808988d22c043f9eb96f1e0fe80?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06fdc0dc81c157dfdb82ec42f252178a22307808988d22c043f9eb96f1e0fe80?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06fdc0dc81c157dfdb82ec42f252178a22307808988d22c043f9eb96f1e0fe80?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mennworldcon\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/author\/mennworldcon\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution - Mennonite World Conference","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution - Mennonite World Conference","og_description":"Oita, Japan \u2013 On Japanese Constitution Memorial Day, 03 May, fourteen Japanese Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders issued a call against proposed amendments to the Japanese constitution, particularly to article 9, the so-called \u201cpeace article.\u201d On the same day, national newspapers released polls showing that proposed amendments to the constitution are gaining support. Under […]","og_url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/","og_site_name":"Mennonite World Conference","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference","article_published_time":"2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-10T18:38:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":556,"height":440,"url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"mennworldcon","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/"},"author":{"name":"mennworldcon","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/11f6ae0d7d1868ba20a1cc27f067c836"},"headline":"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution","datePublished":"2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-10T18:38:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/"},"wordCount":319,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/","name":"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution - Mennonite World Conference","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg","datePublished":"2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-10T18:38:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/japanese_peace_appeal_photo-web_edit2.jpg","width":556,"height":440,"caption":"Two japanese men in a church below a wooden cross."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/japanese-anabaptist-leaders-oppose-changes-peace-article-constitution\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Japanese Anabaptist leaders oppose changes to peace article in constitution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/","name":"Mennonite World Conference","description":"A communion of Anabaptist-related churches","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"MWC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization","name":"Mennonite World Conference","alternateName":"MWC","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg","width":786,"height":82,"caption":"Mennonite World Conference"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mennonite-world-conference-mwc\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mwcmm\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/mwccmm","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/mwcmm.bsky.social"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/11f6ae0d7d1868ba20a1cc27f067c836","name":"mennworldcon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06fdc0dc81c157dfdb82ec42f252178a22307808988d22c043f9eb96f1e0fe80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06fdc0dc81c157dfdb82ec42f252178a22307808988d22c043f9eb96f1e0fe80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06fdc0dc81c157dfdb82ec42f252178a22307808988d22c043f9eb96f1e0fe80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mennworldcon"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org"],"url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/author\/mennworldcon\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6347"},{"taxonomy":"network","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/network?post=6347"},{"taxonomy":"eventcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventcategory?post=6347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}