John Junkerman : The Global Article 9 Conference, Toward the Abolition of War

His reflection and reportage on The Global Article 9 Conference, at Japan Focus (25.05.2008) :

Conference participants drafted a declaration, placing Article 9 in the context of a global disarmament agenda as well as a statement to the G8 countries that will be meeting in Japan next July. Plans are already being discussed for follow-up conferences, perhaps to be held in Costa Rica and elsewhere. 

The success of the conference and the international attention focused on Article 9 generated strong enthusiasm and optimism. But for Japanese activists, it also placed in sharp focus the large gap between the potential of Article 9 and the reality shrouding Japan—and the work that remains to be done. After an international participant called for a campaign to award Article 9 a Nobel Peace Prize, conference co-chair Ikeda Kayako responded in her closing remarks, “A Nobel Peace Prize? That’s out of the question. When I think of the actual situation of Article 9 in Japan, when I think of the US-Japan Security Treaty, when I think of  Okinawa, all I feel is pain in my heart.”