APOUL and MiyabiBase oppose all war.
APOUL and MiyabiBase oppose war, regardless of the reason given for it or the means by which it is fought.
We oppose nuclear weapons and biological weapons themselves. We do not want weapons capable of killing people on a massive or indiscriminate scale to exist or be used.
We are also deeply concerned that advances in technology—including AI-enabled combat drones, autonomous weapons and cyber operations—are changing the nature of warfare itself.
MODERN WARFARE
The nature of war has already changed.
In modern warfare, people can be killed in an extremely short period of time by remotely operated weapons, unmanned systems, or AI-assisted identification and targeting, even when opposing soldiers never face one another directly.
A person may lose their life simply by being present in a combat zone, without ever seeing or speaking to the person responsible. We are deeply concerned that technological progress can accelerate and automate decisions and actions that take human life.
Modern conflict and security challenges are also no longer limited to military force. Information manipulation, cyberattacks, economic pressure, social division, and tensions surrounding population movements and immigration policy can all have major effects within societies. We believe such issues should be addressed through fact-based discussion and dialogue, not through fear, hatred or exclusion.
WHY DO WE FIGHT?
Why must we fight at all?
Differences between people and between nations are natural. But should those differences ever become a reason for human beings to take one another's lives?
We will continue to ask where the justification for conflict that costs human lives truly lies.
Protecting a country matters. But protecting a country is not the same as hating someone else.
To protect both our countries and peace itself, we believe people must value their own communities, cultures and societies while also connecting across nationalities and positions, seeking mutual understanding and resisting division.
We should stop disputes through dialogue before they become wars. Peace should never be taken for granted. Each person should continue doing what they can to preserve it. We believe those efforts, accumulated over time, help protect nations and contribute to peace throughout the world.
War is started by human beings.
And we believe human beings can also stop war, choose peace, and continue to protect it.
ARTICLE 9
Regarding Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan
APOUL and MiyabiBase value the principle expressed in Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan: the sincere pursuit of international peace and the renunciation of war, the threat of force, and the use of force as means of settling international disputes.
We want this commitment to peace to remain part of Japan's future.
We value Article 9 and hope that the current Article 9 will continue to be preserved.
- Dialogue over force.
- Connection over division.
- Peace over war.