Tokyo, Japan - April 19, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of protesters rallying before National Diet building
2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (starting with shot 1):
"I am filled with immense fear, and I truly hope the Takaichi administration will halt all of this. Japan caused tremendous suffering to countries across Asia during past wars. After great difficulty, we established the pacifist constitution and the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology. Yet now, our tax payments are being used to export lethal weapons to countries around the world. I sincerely hope that this can be stopped."
3. Various of protesters holding placards, demanding Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to step down, opposing constitutional revision
4. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"The attempts to export lethal weapons or to push for constitutional revision have filled me with an intense sense of crisis. I strongly oppose such moves. I hope Takaichi will step down immediately."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
5. Various of protesters holding placards, opposing constitutional revision and military expansion
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
6. Various of protesters holding placards, opposing constitutional revision, demanding Takaichi to step down
7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"Today's Japanese people must cherish the pacifist constitution with the firm resolve to 'never repeat the mistakes of the past.' That is why I oppose any constitutional revision, and I also feel deep anger toward the Takaichi administration's moves in this direction."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
8. Protesters holding placards, National Diet building
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
9. Various of protesters chanting slogans, holding placards

Tens of thousands of Japanese citizens gathered before the National Diet building on Sunday, voicing strong opposition to the dangerous policy shifts under the current administration led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Protesters carried banners and chanted slogans condemning moves to relax Japan's restrictions on arms exports and revise the country's postwar pacifist constitution.

Slogans such as "Takaichi administration, step down" and "stop weapons exports" echoed through the streets as demonstrators expressed concerns that Japan's recent policy directions could undermine its longstanding commitment to peace.

"I am filled with immense fear, and I truly hope the Takaichi administration will halt all of this. Japan caused tremendous suffering to countries across Asia during past wars. After great difficulty, we established the pacifist constitution and the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology. Yet now, our tax payments are being used to export lethal weapons to countries around the world. I sincerely hope that this can be stopped," said a protester.

Japan's postwar constitution, especially Article 9, states that the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation, and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

The current rules laid out in Japan's Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology limit its defense equipment exports to five non-combat purposes, namely rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping.

However, Takaichi's government is considering revising the implementation guidelines for the Three Principles and removing these restrictions, which in principle allows exports of lethal weapons to other countries.

"The attempts to export lethal weapons or to push for constitutional revision have filled me with an intense sense of crisis. I strongly oppose such moves. I hope Takaichi will step down immediately," said another protester.

"Today's Japanese people must cherish the pacifist constitution with the firm resolve to 'never repeat the mistakes of the past.' That is why I oppose any constitutional revision, and I also feel deep anger toward the Takaichi administration's moves in this direction," a third protester said.