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Joint Statement for Peace in Asia
Update: Peace in Asia
Joint Statement Sent to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and 10 ASEAN Countries (8 September 2025)
Consumers Union of Japan and the Housewives’ Federation have sent the Joint Statement for Asian Peace to the Prime Minister of Japan and the embassies of South Korea, Taiwan, China, as well as the 10 ASEAN countries.
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We are Japanese consumer organizations working to establish consumer rights and protect lives and livelihoods.
We express our deepest respect to the ASEAN member states, which have long pursued diplomatic efforts to build peace in the Southeast Asian region.
We are writing to share our Joint Statement on Asian Peace, which advocates “dialogue over force,” with ASEAN, an organization that values and practices dialogue above all else. We have enclosed the statement. We would be grateful if you would take the time to review it.
We issued the Joint Statement for Asian Peace in August 2024, wishing for the swiftest possible end to the unceasing wars and conflicts around the world and for all people living on Earth to be able to live in peace. Currently, 30 civic groups active in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and New Zealand have endorsed it. Thus, there are people across Asia who sincerely wish for peace and support solidarity among citizens.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. As citizens of Japan, whose Constitution advocates non-aggression, we will continue dialogue and exchange to further expand and deepen connections between people seeking peace. This is to prevent any more wars from occurring in Asia and around the world.
Japanese text here
Japan Resources 198
Contents:
From the Editors: Heated Debates
#DialogueOverForce: Citizens Unite for Peace in Asia Symposium
The East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum and UPOV 1991: Implications for Seed Systems in Southeast Asia
Trend: Current Status of Genetically Altered Rice
In the News: Fragrance Sensitivity Affects 1 in 10 Students, Survey Finds
In the News: The Mainichi Shimbun Editorial for “Stable Rice Supply”
From the Editors: Heated Debates
This summer has been the hottest on record, Japan’s weather agency reports. The abnormal heat, reaching above 40 degrees Celsius in several places, has caused thousands of cases of heatstroke and damaged industries, including agriculture and fisheries.
It has indeed been a summer of heated debates about peace, as we remember the end of WW2 this August.
We must also consider the children who go back to school this month. One issue some students face is the fragrance pollution problem, that CUJ and the Network to Stop Fragrance Pollution have highlighted.
We hope you will take advantage of our new online feature to contribute to Consumers Union of Japan, with a donation online. Please click on the Congrant.com link below.
Link (J): https://congrant.com/project/nishoren/17172/form/step1?spt_route=iOMZA1tdEDWd0RJY
– Editors
Symposium: Dialogue Over Force: Citizens Connecting for Peace in Asia
Symposium: Dialogue Over Force: Citizens Connecting for Peace in Asia
Eighty years have passed since the end of World War II. A new era of military domination is emerging, with major powers openly prioritizing their own interests. Countries are increasing their military budgets, and Japan is also doubling down on weapons manufacturing and Self-Defense Forces base expansion.
We call on the Japanese government to abandon the path of becoming a military power and instead pursue peace through its own diplomatic initiatives, using “Dialogue Over Force” as our motto. We will work with citizens across Asia, where new flashpoints such as Taiwan are being hyped, to build a strong public opinion in favour of peace. In August 2024, the Housewives’ Association, Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ), and the Korean Dure Consumer Cooperative Federation called for an “Asian Peace Joint Statement,” which was endorsed by 26 organizations in Japan and abroad.
International journalist Chihiro Ito, who has reported on people power in various countries and promoted the world-renowned Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution both domestically and internationally, will give an inspiring talk on how citizens can connect with each other.
Date and Time: 8 August 2025 (Fri) 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Venue: Housewives’ Association Plaza F 3F Housewives’ Association Meeting Room / Online Co-hosted
Address: 15 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / Access: 1-minute walk from JR Yotsuya Station
● Lecturer Profile
Chihiro Ito
International journalist. As a correspondent for the Asahi Shimbun, he has reported from 84 countries, including Central and South America, Europe, and the United States. He is a member of the Article 9 Association. His publications include “Costa Rica: A Leading Nation in Peace, Environment, and Human Rights Where People Speak of ‘Pure Life,’” “The Oath of Non-War,” and “The Oath of Non-War II”.
Hosted by: Dialogue Over Force Project (Housewives’ Association, Consumers Union of Japan)
●Dialogue Over Force Project
A project by the Housewives’ Association and Consumers Union of Japan. The Japan Housewives’ Association and CUJ issued a joint statement by consumer organizations titled “We, as consumers, demand a peaceful society that values life and livelihood, and oppose the possession of enemy base attack capabilities (counterattack capabilities) and the increase in defense spending” in response to the crisis posed by the revision of the three security documents in December 2022, which would lead to the possession of enemy base attack capabilities—a violation of Japan’s Constitution—and the doubling of military spending under the guise of defense spending.
The statement garnered the support of 96 organizations. Subsequently, to prevent Asia from becoming a battlefield again, in August 2024, we jointly issued the “Asia Peace Joint Statement” and are calling for support from consumer and citizen groups both domestically and internationally. As of June 2025, 26 organizations from Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and New Zealand have endorsed the statement.
In April 2025, the “Dialogue Over Force Project” was launched, which, in addition to promoting the Asia Peace Joint Statement, conducts protest activities and boycotts targeting weapons manufacturing and export companies.
Information in Japanese here
Online Webinar: Seed Systems
Online Webinar:
The East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum and UPOV 1991: Implications for Seed Systems in Southeast Asia
Published by Third World Network and authored by Sangeeta Shashikant.
Download the book here
Date: 16 July 2025
Time: 4 pm MYT / 3 pm WIB
Register: https://tinyurl.com/53h5ea2a
This publication discusses the motivations and commercial interests behind the East Asia Plant Variety Protection (EAPVP) Forum, how it has evolved into a key platform for aggressively promoting the adoption of the 1991 Act of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in the Southeast Asia region.
The webinar will bring together experts in intellectual property, agriculture, and farmers’ rights to discuss the economic and political dynamics behind the campaign for UPOV 1991 and its implications for developing countries.
Speaker
- Sangeeta Shashikant, Programme Coordinator, Third World Network
Commentators
- Nori Ignacio, Executive Director, Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE)
- NurFitri Amir Muhammad, Food Sovereignty Forum Malaysia
- Inyaku Tomoya, Secretary General, OK Seed Project, Japan
Quote: …the paper concludes that the EAPVP Forum primarily serves as a strategic tool for Japan and the UPOV Secretariat to pressure South East Asian countries into adopting the rigid UPOV 1991 framework, threatening their policy space and agricultural sovereignty. SEA countries, especially non-UPOV members, should critically reassess their participation and advocate for a reorientation of the Forum towards: genuine collaboration based on recognition of the sovereign right of each country to preserve the flexibility to have and implement a national PVP system distinct from UPOV Conventions; promoting critical, evidence-based discussions; engagement of diverse perspectives, in particular local stakeholders in SEA such as smallholder farmers, local and indigenous communities; establishment of an independent secretariat; and ensuring greater transparency and accountability of the Forum’s activities.
Japan Resourses 197
Contents:
From the Editors: Rice and Peace in the News
If there are no more Farmers…
Citizens of the World Against Military Expansion
Our Future and the Future of Wetlands
US-Japan Trade Negotiations: We are firmly opposed to the selling out of agriculture and food
Statement of Protest against the Government Decision on the Seventh Strategic Energy Plan
Letter to Y’s Mart: Request and letter of inquiry regarding the sale of genome-edited tomato
From the Editors:
Rice and Peace in the News
This spring, high rice prices have been in the news almost daily. As consumers, we cannot understand how the cost of such an important commodity has doubled. And in many shops, there was no rice at all.
Farmers protested in the streets of Tokyo. What about the cost of imported inputs, such as oil, fertilizers and pesticides? We again raise our slogan of local production, local consumption. And of course, we do not want genome-edited foods…
Beyond that, this 197th issue of Japan Resources has a focus on peace in Asia, with two contributions from Japan and from our friends in South Korea: “Citizens of the World Against Military Expansion”
We will add a feature soon, so you may contribute to Consumers Union of Japan, with a donation online.
– Editors