Thousands in Tokyo demand resignation of PM Sanae Takaichi

Around 25,000 protestors rallied in Tokyo's Shibuya Scramble Crossing on Sunday, opposing remilitarization and Japan’s push to revise Article 9, the pacifist clause of its Constitution.

The protestors are in addition calling for the resignation of far-right Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who ignited a diplomatic firestorm in November when she pledged she would deploy Japanese troops in the event of a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait.

Japan's military budget for 2025 reached a record-breaking 9 trillion yen (approx. $58 billion), and in a major shift from its post-WWII pacifist policy, the country lifted its ban on lethal export weapons earlier this year and is also actively participating in US-led war exercises across the region. And on Friday, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has urged a “debate” on the acquisition of nuclear weapons stating that the issue is one Japan “cannot avoid touching.”

Critics assert that the government is dragging the country into the US-led war on China.

Takaichi’s approval rating has fallen below 50 percent as of July 17, according to recent polls.