English: https://www.change.org/no-war-article-9
Japanese（日本語）: https://www.change.org/peace-article9


Petition to support the nomination of activities aimed at protecting Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution (which is unique in its renunciation of war and the military potential) for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

Given the current threat of elimination facing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, a petition has been started to award the Nobel Peace Prize for "Activities to Protect Article 9 of the Constitution."

To honored members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, 

Since its adoption 76 years ago, the Japanese Constitution and, in particular the Preamble and Article 9, reflecting our nation’s self-examination regarding war and our desire for peace for all people of the world, has stood as a lone beacon as the world’s only constitution to renounce war and the retention of military potential.

However, the Japanese government, through its clever manipulation of people’s anxieties, has gained tacit approval to exercise the right to collective self-defense and has been developing and expanding the “ability to attack enemy bases” to enable “first-strike attacks,” which would be violations of international law. These policies violate the Constitution of Japan. Forces in the Diet seeking to expand Japan’s military power have more than the two-thirds majority needed for a constitutional amendment to "revise" the Constitution itself.

It is in this urgent context that the two following organizations that have been campaigning steadfastly to end war in the spirit of Article 9 have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 by 123 members of the Diet and university professors. (NOTE: As the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to an individual or an organization, the Constitution is ineligible.)

List of nominators

◆Nationwide Network for Lawsuits on the Unconstitutionality of the New Security Laws

The new Security Laws, enacted through a forced vote in the Diet, was passed after a Cabinet decision to change the government's prior interpretation that Article 9 does not recognize the right of collective self-defense. 25 cases have been filed in 22 courts nationwide to challenge the constitutionality of and to call for abolition of the laws. The nationwide organization comprises 7,699 plaintiffs represented by 1,685 attorneys.

◆The National Citizens’ Action to Say No! to the Revision of Article 9 of the Constitution

The National Citizen’s Action Committee, which was borne out of a national network of peace organizations united in their opposition to constitutional amendment, is the largest grassroots organization in Japan aimed at protecting Japan’s peace constitution. The group has also been involved in the "National Petition against Constitutional Revision" and the "Petition against Military Expansion and Tax Increases that Destroy Peace, Lives, and Livelihoods" and advocates" as part of their efforts to keep Article 9 alive and to prevent war.”

In a world continuously beset by war, it is our hope that the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize will turn people’s attention in Japan and around the world to Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which seeks the realization of peace without armed force, as a new approach to achieving world peace.