Dispute breaks out over use of loud speakers for demonstrations during Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6
Apr. 30, 2019
by Keiichi Nagayama, Staff Writer
A dispute has broken out over voices amplified through loud speakers for demonstrations held during the Peace Memorial Ceremony, which takes place annually in the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima on August 6. These demonstrations are staged near the park. With the aim of creating a quiet environment for the ceremony, the City of Hiroshima conducted a survey of the public, asking if an ordinance limiting the use of loud speakers at this time should be considered. At the same time, the organizers of the demonstrations have grown discontented with the city’s actions, arguing for the value of their demonstrations. A-bomb survivors groups have asked the municipal government to be cautious about creating new regulations out of concern that this could violate freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
The debate was triggered by this survey of Hiroshima residents, which was carried out by the city last December. A questionnaire was sent by mail to 3,000 citizens aged 18 or older. These people were asked, through multiple choice questions, if they felt that the voices from the demonstrations during the ceremony were too loud, and if they agreed with the idea of regulating the use of loud speakers at this time by establishing an ordinance to that effect. The city has said that the results of the survey will be made public in or after May, and it will then determine how to handle the issue.
At a press conference held in January of this year, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said that he would like those attending the ceremony to be able to listen to the Peace Declaration in a calm environment, and expressed the view that establishing an ordinance to regulate the use of loud speakers would be effective as one possible countermeasure.
Meanwhile, in early April, six members of the executive committee of the group 8.6 Hiroshima Anti-War Anti-Nuclear International Rally visited City Hall and submitted a document to express their opposition to any new regulations imposed on demonstrations. They said, “We can never accept the idea that the local government of the A-bombed city would restrict our voices of protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the fact that he doesn’t support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
Terumi Oe, the co-chair of the executive committee comprised of four groups who also serves as chair of the National Railway Motive Power Union of Western Japan (Doro-Nishinihon located in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima), said that they have staged this demonstration since 1999 and that in recent years 300 to 400 people have come together from across Japan to participate. Apart from the time for silent prayer, at 8:15 a.m., they demonstrate during the ceremony by conveying anti-nuclear and anti-war messages, raising their voices in protest against the current administration, and marching through the park. Mr. Oe explained, “With the ceremony being held nearby at the same time, our demonstration has significance as a symbolic act.”
According to the city, a mix of several groups making anti-war and anti-nuclear appeals, as well as other groups that support the idea of Japan arming itself with nuclear weapons, gather around the A-bomb Dome each year and engage in rallies or demonstrations. Over the past decade, these groups have gotten into squabbles with one another and their amplified voices, through loud speakers, and choruses of shouts now carry out to the venue where the Peace Memorial Ceremony is performed. Since fiscal 2014, the city has verbally asked the groups to turn down the volume on their loud speakers or change the route of their marches prior to the ceremony, but they have not complied with this request.
Interviewed by the city, the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo, chaired by Kunihiko Sakuma) presented its view that limiting the freedom of expression of the public in the days of pre-war Japan led to the outbreak of the Pacific War and eventually to the atomic bombing. The group submitted a document expressing its opposition to new regulations. The other Hiroshima Hidankyo (chaired by Sunao Tsuboi) also responded that the city must be cautious when it comes to regulating the demonstrations. At the same time, Koichiro Maeda, the group’s secretary general, said, “Many of the A-bomb survivors don’t feel comfortable about the sound of these demonstrations echoing during the ceremony. I would like the activist groups to consider the feelings of the A-bomb survivors, who just want to quietly pray for the souls of the A-bomb victims, and come up with a more suitable way of demonstrating their views.”
To control the use of loud speakers, the Japanese government maintains a law which seeks to preserve peace and quiet, including in the area around the Diet building. In 1993, Hiroshima Prefecture enacted an ordinance to limit the volume of loud speakers on the vehicles of right-wing campaigners. However, the provisions of this ordinance narrowly defines its applicable scope by stating that it should not unfairly violate freedom of expression and other fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
With regard to establishing a new ordinance that would regulate demonstrations, Takayuki Yamane, the director of the Citizens Activities Promotion Division of the City of Hiroshima, said, “There is no intention of violating freedom of speech or expression, as this wouldn’t restrict people from expressing their views in demonstrations.” He added, “At the same time, we would like to come up with a suitable way to ensure that there is a quiet atmosphere for the ceremony, in line with the opinions of A-bomb survivors and citizens.”
Keywords
Survey by the City of Hiroshima about Peace Memorial Ceremony
A survey of 3,000 randomly-chosen citizens aged 18 or older was conducted by the City of Hiroshima last December. Expressing the view that allowing the amplified voices of demonstrations through loud speakers to remain uncontrolled during the ceremony would undercut the purpose of the ceremony, the respondents were asked to choose from among these options to address the problem and maintain a quieter environment for the ceremony:
(1) Regulate the demonstrations by enacting an ordinance.
(2) Only make the request that the organizers of demonstrations lower the volume of their voices.
(3) Other alternatives.
In addition, the city added a note on the survey form which read: “If the demonstrations are restricted by ordinance, such an ordinance would be established after other ways of addressing the issue are thoroughly pursued by the city to ensure the public welfare for a quiet atmosphere at the ceremony while continuing to guarantee freedom of expression through the use of loud speakers.”
(Originally published on April 30, 2019)
A dispute has broken out over voices amplified through loud speakers for demonstrations held during the Peace Memorial Ceremony, which takes place annually in the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima on August 6. These demonstrations are staged near the park. With the aim of creating a quiet environment for the ceremony, the City of Hiroshima conducted a survey of the public, asking if an ordinance limiting the use of loud speakers at this time should be considered. At the same time, the organizers of the demonstrations have grown discontented with the city’s actions, arguing for the value of their demonstrations. A-bomb survivors groups have asked the municipal government to be cautious about creating new regulations out of concern that this could violate freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
The debate was triggered by this survey of Hiroshima residents, which was carried out by the city last December. A questionnaire was sent by mail to 3,000 citizens aged 18 or older. These people were asked, through multiple choice questions, if they felt that the voices from the demonstrations during the ceremony were too loud, and if they agreed with the idea of regulating the use of loud speakers at this time by establishing an ordinance to that effect. The city has said that the results of the survey will be made public in or after May, and it will then determine how to handle the issue.
At a press conference held in January of this year, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said that he would like those attending the ceremony to be able to listen to the Peace Declaration in a calm environment, and expressed the view that establishing an ordinance to regulate the use of loud speakers would be effective as one possible countermeasure.
Meanwhile, in early April, six members of the executive committee of the group 8.6 Hiroshima Anti-War Anti-Nuclear International Rally visited City Hall and submitted a document to express their opposition to any new regulations imposed on demonstrations. They said, “We can never accept the idea that the local government of the A-bombed city would restrict our voices of protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the fact that he doesn’t support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
Terumi Oe, the co-chair of the executive committee comprised of four groups who also serves as chair of the National Railway Motive Power Union of Western Japan (Doro-Nishinihon located in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima), said that they have staged this demonstration since 1999 and that in recent years 300 to 400 people have come together from across Japan to participate. Apart from the time for silent prayer, at 8:15 a.m., they demonstrate during the ceremony by conveying anti-nuclear and anti-war messages, raising their voices in protest against the current administration, and marching through the park. Mr. Oe explained, “With the ceremony being held nearby at the same time, our demonstration has significance as a symbolic act.”
According to the city, a mix of several groups making anti-war and anti-nuclear appeals, as well as other groups that support the idea of Japan arming itself with nuclear weapons, gather around the A-bomb Dome each year and engage in rallies or demonstrations. Over the past decade, these groups have gotten into squabbles with one another and their amplified voices, through loud speakers, and choruses of shouts now carry out to the venue where the Peace Memorial Ceremony is performed. Since fiscal 2014, the city has verbally asked the groups to turn down the volume on their loud speakers or change the route of their marches prior to the ceremony, but they have not complied with this request.
Interviewed by the city, the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo, chaired by Kunihiko Sakuma) presented its view that limiting the freedom of expression of the public in the days of pre-war Japan led to the outbreak of the Pacific War and eventually to the atomic bombing. The group submitted a document expressing its opposition to new regulations. The other Hiroshima Hidankyo (chaired by Sunao Tsuboi) also responded that the city must be cautious when it comes to regulating the demonstrations. At the same time, Koichiro Maeda, the group’s secretary general, said, “Many of the A-bomb survivors don’t feel comfortable about the sound of these demonstrations echoing during the ceremony. I would like the activist groups to consider the feelings of the A-bomb survivors, who just want to quietly pray for the souls of the A-bomb victims, and come up with a more suitable way of demonstrating their views.”
To control the use of loud speakers, the Japanese government maintains a law which seeks to preserve peace and quiet, including in the area around the Diet building. In 1993, Hiroshima Prefecture enacted an ordinance to limit the volume of loud speakers on the vehicles of right-wing campaigners. However, the provisions of this ordinance narrowly defines its applicable scope by stating that it should not unfairly violate freedom of expression and other fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
With regard to establishing a new ordinance that would regulate demonstrations, Takayuki Yamane, the director of the Citizens Activities Promotion Division of the City of Hiroshima, said, “There is no intention of violating freedom of speech or expression, as this wouldn’t restrict people from expressing their views in demonstrations.” He added, “At the same time, we would like to come up with a suitable way to ensure that there is a quiet atmosphere for the ceremony, in line with the opinions of A-bomb survivors and citizens.”
Keywords
Survey by the City of Hiroshima about Peace Memorial Ceremony
A survey of 3,000 randomly-chosen citizens aged 18 or older was conducted by the City of Hiroshima last December. Expressing the view that allowing the amplified voices of demonstrations through loud speakers to remain uncontrolled during the ceremony would undercut the purpose of the ceremony, the respondents were asked to choose from among these options to address the problem and maintain a quieter environment for the ceremony:
(1) Regulate the demonstrations by enacting an ordinance.
(2) Only make the request that the organizers of demonstrations lower the volume of their voices.
(3) Other alternatives.
In addition, the city added a note on the survey form which read: “If the demonstrations are restricted by ordinance, such an ordinance would be established after other ways of addressing the issue are thoroughly pursued by the city to ensure the public welfare for a quiet atmosphere at the ceremony while continuing to guarantee freedom of expression through the use of loud speakers.”
(Originally published on April 30, 2019)
