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Article 9 of Japan’s 1946 Constitution, called the "Peace Constitution," states that "it gives up the use of force as a means of international conflict and does not recognize the right of the state to engage." The Constitution was imposed by the United States in the post-World War II period. For this reason, most Japanese governments in the past gave up their "collective self-defense rights" (considering attacks on allies as their own) on the grounds that it would be contrary to Article 9 of the Constitution.
However, since 2014, the Abe administration made the exercise of collective self-defense official at a Cabinet meeting by changing its interpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution instead of using Article 96 of the Constitution to amend the Constitution itself. This change gave Japan more power to defend its allies in case of a declaration of war. Following Abe's ambition to amend the Constitution, the movement continued even when the new Suga administration took office in September 2020.
Naomi Takasu, a stay-at-home mom in Jamashi, Kanagawa, Japan, saw the government's ambition trying to open the way for a military power through a Cabinet meeting and thought that Japan's future would be a desperate one if the Constitution changed. She suggested that the current generation should not pass down a fear of war to children and as many as 750,000 people joined the movement. About 8,000 civic groups, which support Article 9 of Japan's Peace Constitution, were formed and are active in each region of Japan.
Naomi said, "When I was in my 20s studying in Australia, I saw the horrors of war refugees from all over the country," adding, "I think children from all over the world are really precious, and I think anyone will object to a war that kills these children."
She also said, "I hope the prime minister to realize the will of the people supporting the Peace Constitution."
Many intellectuals from Korea and Japan have sent letters of recommendation to the Nobel Committee this year, and this was its seventh challenge for the Peace Prize. However, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its efforts to better conditions for peace in conflict areas, and to strongly act to prevent the usage of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.