Activists in Japan lose lawsuit against self-defense legislation

Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Japanese civic groups contesting the legality of Japan's overseas "collective self-defense" lost a lawsuit in Tokyo on Thursday.

The activists' lawsuit claims the legislation that came into effect on March 29, 2016, is unconstitutional, Kyodo News reported.

A Tokyo court has dismissed the suit, which has demanded compensation equivalent to about $1,000 per plaintiff, a total of 1,553 people, for the law's violation of the Japanese constitution, according to the report.

The Japanese constitution, created in 1947, states the Japanese military can act only in self-defense. The 2016 law allows Article 9 to be reinterpreted to allow Japan's military to operate overseas for "collective self-defense" for allies like the United States.

The plaintiffs in the case say the security legislation, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe supports, would jeopardize Japan's safety and the right of Japanese to "live in peace."

The court said in a statement on Thursday that "peace can be expressed by different ideas or creeds," and that "it is impossible to determine the concrete meaning" of peace.

The Tokyo court added it cannot be said that the legislation itself "poses a danger to the safety of people's lives and bodies."

The activists have filed other lawsuits across 22 courts in Japan, contesting the collective self-defense legislation. Earlier in April, a court in Sapporo dismissed a similar lawsuit.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Thursday parliament should move forward with amendments to the country's pacifist constitution, the Japan Times and Kyodo reported.

The LDP's Eisuke Mori defended amendments, saying other countries like Germany have revised their constitution since World War II.

Such concessions "need to be considered, but we have to be careful not to undermine the constitutional system," Mori said.

Abe has met opposition to his objective of achieving the first amendment to the constitution, which would require approval by two-third majorities in both chambers of Japan's Diet.