Mothers’ Conference calls for Constitution to be defended

   The 58th Japan Mothers’ Conference was held on August 25 and 26 in Tokyo, calling for mothers’ solidarity and cooperation to defend the Constitution and to secure a peaceful future for children.

   On the first day of the conference, about 4,000 people took part in the “Defend the Constitution! Mothers’ Mass March” event.

   Participants from Okinawa in traditional local happi-coats marched playing small drums. A 46-year-old mother with her 6-year-old daughter said, “The Self-Defense Forces’ aircraft roar above our heads every morning. Such conditions must not be expanded to other parts of Japan.”

   On the second day, about 5,500 people had discussions in four different workshops on “children and education”, “women’s rights”, “tax and social insurance”, and “peace and democracy”.

   At the workshop on “women’s rights,” Kobe College Professor Ishikawa Yasuhiro gave a speech titled “Prime Minister Abe’s ‘Beautiful Japan’ scheme and women” and criticized pro-Yasukuni forces for showing animosity toward the effort to abolish discrimination against women.

   A woman from Niigata Prefecture with her 6-year-old and 11-year-old daughters attended a workshop on “peace and democracy.” She said, “I was heartened by poet Arthur Binard’s words: ‘The Constitution is like muscle.’” She said, “He made me realize that the Constitution would mean nothing if we do not use it.”                                 - Akahata, August 26 & 27, 2007