top
Anti-war protests rock Japan as PM pushes for stronger defence
Key takeaways
- Kurumi Mori Tokyo correspondent BBC News: Jiro Akiba On a Tokyo street corner, in the pouring rain, a swelling crowd gathered with drenched placards and sodden flags.
- It's a sentiment that is gaining more and more volume in Japan, which is currently witnessing its largest anti-war protests in decades.
- The government says such moves are necessary in an increasingly tense region.
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
Kurumi Mori Tokyo correspondent BBC News: Jiro Akiba On a Tokyo street corner, in the pouring rain, a swelling crowd gathered with drenched placards and sodden flags. On one of them was written just two words, in big bold Japanese kanji characters: "No War".
It's a sentiment that is gaining more and more volume in Japan, which is currently witnessing its largest anti-war protests in decades.
Since coming to power in October 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has taken major steps away from the country's post-war pacifist stance, lifting long-standing restrictions on arms exports and expanding Japan's military role abroad.
Article preview — originally published by BBC News. Full story at the source.
Read full story on BBC News →
More top stories
Aggregated and edited by the Scoop newsroom. We surface news from BBC News alongside other reporting so you can compare coverage in one place.
Editorial policy · Corrections · About Scoop