July 20 & 21, 2026

Braving the scorching heat, 25,000 people assembled near the Diet building in protest against the Takaichi government forcibly enacting unjust laws. This was live-streamed on the Internet and attracted 35,000 viewers. On this day, similar protests took place at more than 270 locations across the country.

At the rally in front of the Diet building, Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Yamazoe Taku and Social Democratic Party head Fukushima Mizuho delivered speeches in solidarity. The rally received a message of solidarity from parliamentary group “Okinawa Whirlwind” member of the House of Councillors Iha Yoichi.

Yamazoe in his speech pointed out that the enactment of a bill to cut the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives as the ruling coalition sought with the use of their majority force was blocked. He said, “This is because many citizens raised their voices and made their concerns visible.”

Speaking on behalf of the organizers of the protest, Hishiyama Nahoko mentioned the forcible passage of the law punishing acts of desecrating Japan’s national flag and the adverse revision of the Imperial House Law. She said, “Regarding the flag desecration law, the most terrifying thing is not knowing what specifically could be considered a punishable offense. The revised Imperial House Law, with its insistence on male-only succession, demonstrates just how far behind Japan is in terms of the global trend toward working for gender equality.”

Hishiyama also brought up the ruling Liberal Democratic and “Ishin” parties’ attempt to slash the number of House of Representatives’ proportional representative seats. She said, “Cutting the number of proportional representation seats is tantamount to arguing that female lawmakers and opposition parties are unnecessary as well as to declaring the intent to destroy democracy. Let us do our utmost to prevent a bill to that effect from being introduced in the next extraordinary session of the Diet.”

In addition, she pointed out that the one-week extension of the special Diet session is intended to pass the “Ishin” party’s flagship bill to establish a secondary capital of the country. She emphasized the need to work hard to prevent the ruling forces from using and manipulating the Diet for their own partisan interests and goals.