“Takaichi, Resign!” — Thousands Protest japan’s Return to Militarism

“Takaichi, Resign!” — Thousands Protest japan’s Return to Militarism

Tokyo | August 20, 2026

Tens of thousands of Japanese protesters gathered outside the National Diet in Tokyo, denouncing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push toward military expansion and what demonstrators called a dangerous retreat from Japan’s post-war pacifist principles.

Chants rang out:

“Oppose military expansion!”

“Defend the pacifist Constitution!”

“Takaichi, step down!”

At the heart of the protests is growing opposition to efforts to revise Article 9, expand defense spending, and reinterpret Japan’s post-war security framework.

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan’s Social Democratic Party, criticized Takaichi for failing to express sufficient “reflection” on Japan’s wartime aggression during the August 15 memorial ceremony for the war dead.

She also condemned the government’s ambiguous stance toward Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles during commemorations of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Okinawa, one protester warned that the government’s direction displays “a strong belligerent streak.”

Another, referring to the establishment of a new national intelligence bureau, issued an even darker warning:

“The sound of war is approaching.”

And this is not an isolated demonstration.

Since May, protests against Takaichi’s military agenda have repeatedly attracted 25,000–50,000 people, marking one of the strongest expressions of public resistance to Japan’s proposed remilitarization in years.

Japan’s post-war identity was built around a rejection of militarism. But as Tokyo expands its military capabilities and reconsiders Article 9, is the country quietly abandoning the very principles that defined it after 1945?