Japanese protesters rally against large-scale Japan-U.S. military drills
People holding signs attend a protest rally in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 20, 2026. Japanese citizens staged a protest rally in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, opposing the large-scale Japan-U.S. joint military exercises and the military buildup. (Xinhua/Li Ziyue)
Japanese citizens rallied outside the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday evening to protest the ongoing Japan-U.S. joint military exercises, calling on the government to halt military expansion and avoid further escalating regional tensions.
Protesters held placards bearing slogans such as “Stop Japan-U.S. military drills” and “Oppose war, stop military buildup” and submitted a written protest to defense ministry officials.
Several speakers said Japan and the United States were continuing to strengthen their military deployments on Japan’s southwestern islands under the pretext of addressing regional security threats, warning that such moves would only increase the risk of military confrontation in the region.
A protester surnamed Ozawa told Xinhua that the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was pushing ahead with military expansion, making him feel that “Japan is gradually accelerating its march toward war.”
Japan’s defense spending continues to swell, while sectors such as medical care and education face funding shortages, placing a serious burden on people’s livelihoods, he said.
Earlier this month, a U.S. Marine stationed in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture was arrested on suspicion of murdering a local woman, further fueling criticism of the joint military exercises.
Seki, another protester, said that problems involving U.S. forces in Japan had persisted for years and were not confined to Okinawa. He argued that tighter controls on U.S. troops alone would not address the root causes, calling for the abolition of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
According to Japanese media reports, the Keen Sword 27 joint exercises are being held at multiple locations across Japan from Oct. 19 to 29, involving about 45,000 personnel from the Japan Self-Defense Forces and 12,000 from the U.S. military.
The exercises are also set to involve the Type 25 surface-to-ship missile, which has a reported range of about 1,000 km, far exceeding the extent of Japan’s territory. These developments have continued to fuel widespread concerns across Japanese society. ■
People holding signs attend a protest rally in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 20, 2026. Japanese citizens staged a protest rally in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, opposing the large-scale Japan-U.S. joint military exercises and the military buildup. (Xinhua/Li Ziyue)
A protestor holding a sign attends a protest rally in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 20, 2026. Japanese citizens staged a protest rally in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, opposing the large-scale Japan-U.S. joint military exercises and the military buildup. (Xinhua/Li Ziyue)
People protest during a rally in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 20, 2026. Japanese citizens staged a protest rally in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, opposing the large-scale Japan-U.S. joint military exercises and the military buildup. (Xinhua/Li Ziyue)
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Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
