ISTANBUL

Thousands of people in Japan protested the US-Israeli war on Iran outside the country’s parliament, the Diet, on Wednesday.

About 24,000 people attended the rally, which also opposed constitutional revisions despite rainy weather, according to the Japanese daily The Mainichi.

Protesters waved glow sticks, held signs, and chanted slogans such as "no constitutional revisions" and "you can’t create peace through force of arms."

The demonstration, called "Emergency Action to Protect the Peace Constitution," was organized by the "We Want Our Future" volunteer group and the "Kenpo Kyujo o Kowasuna! Jikko Iinkai" (Don’t Destroy Article 9! Executive Committee).

Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on US social media platform X that a meeting of the Japan-Iran Parliamentary Friendship League was held on Thursday, attended by Iran’s ambassador to Japan and a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official.

He noted that Tokyo and Tehran have maintained friendly relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1929.

Kishida added that the global situation surrounding Iran is complex, stressing the need to preserve traditional ties with Iran while maintaining balance with the Japan-US alliance.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has earlier called for deeper public debate on revising Japan’s war-renouncing constitution.
Around 8,000 people protested in front of the Diet building on March 10.

Regional escalation has continued since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.