Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 8 April 2026
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Apr 10, 2026, 9:22:13 PMApr 10
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Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 8 April 2026
30,000 Protesters Rally in Tokyo Against
Gov't Moves Undermining Pacifist Constitution
People participate in a protest outside the parliament building in Tokyo, Japan, April 8, 2026.
A large crowd of Japanese people gathered outside the parliament building in Tokyo (above) on Wednesday evening to protest government moves that undermine the country's pacifist constitution, including the deployment of long-range missiles and attempts to ease restrictions on lethal arms exports.
Protesters held placards reading "Protect Article 9," "No War," and "Takaichi Government Step Down Now," while chanting slogans such as "No to constitutional revision" and "No to war," calling for safeguarding Japan's pacifist constitution.
The rally, held in front of the National Diet Building, was organized by Japanese civic groups standing against constitutional revision. Organizers said about 30,000 people attended the demonstration. One protester, identified as Fujimoto, told Xinhua that the government's deployment of long-range missiles and its plan to lift restrictions on lethal arms exports run counter to the pacifist principles enshrined in the constitution. She said missiles are weapons designed to attack and questioned whether their deployment could be justified as self-defense.
Fujimoto added that Japan, a country that suffered atomic bombings, should have the vow of "never waging war again" engraved in its history, and exporting weapons that could fuel conflicts is unacceptable. Another protester, surnamed Kin, echoed that the deployment of long-range missiles, among other government moves, violates the pacifist constitution. He said the government has increasingly acted in disregard of the constitution, which is why demonstrators gathered to protest.
According to reports by Tokyo Shimbun, similar demonstrations took place at more than 130 locations across Japan on the same day in coordination with the Tokyo rally, calling for the protection of the pacifist constitution. Japan's constitution, which took effect in 1947, is often referred to as the pacifist constitution because Article 9 states that the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.
On March 31, Japan deployed long-range missiles with "enemy base strike capabilities" in Kumamoto and Shizuoka prefectures. Japanese media have also reported that the government led by Sanae Takaichi plans to revise the "three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology" and its implementation guidelines by the end of this month, and is considering allowing exports of lethal weapons. The series of military moves has sparked strong concern and criticism from across Japanese society, with critics saying they are a departure from the country's long-standing "exclusively defense-oriented policy" and undermine the pacifist constitution. http://www.china.org.cn/2026-04/09/content_118427256.shtml 22 April - Picnic for Peace
Friends
In light of us feeling pretty negative one way or another by what is taking place in the world right now, we are hoping to start a movement that is simply quietly standing in solidarity with one another and to let everyone know "I feel it too and you are not alone."
As a committee member for Picnic for Peace, we are asking that ahead of April 22nd, your team does the following:
- Fold an origami dove (instructions attached)
- Take a group photo
- Invite picnicforpeacesydney to be a collaborator
- Schedule post for April 22 nd for any time that day
If you need assistance with this, let me know!
The only thing that you will need for this is a square piece of paper, but you can achieve the same results by chopping up an A4 piece.
In the meantime, we also ask that you share the attached flyer with your wider network and invite them, on April 22nd, to post to Instagram with their origami dove (in their hand is fine) in a place that symbolises peace to them. It would be great, if possible, to get some schools involved.
I have provided an Instagram friendly version for this too.
I am grateful for your assistance on this and continued cooperation with Picnic for Peace.
Let me know if you have any questions! 😊
Warm regards,
Cailey SharpCai...@sydneycatholic.org
Social Justice Facilitator & Internship Coordinator
Justice and Peace Office | Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
Penola House | 38 Renwick St, Leichhardt NSW 204012.30 pm 3 May - Joyce Ajlouny Visit @ Sydney City Quaker Meeting Please come at 12.30 pm 3 May and hear a fascinating speaker on Quaker advocacy, peace around the world and challenging militarism. Joyce Ajlouny joined American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as general secretary in 2017. As a Quaker, Palestinian American, Joyce started her career working in international development in Palestine, focusing on minority and refugee rights, gender equality, economic development, and humanitarian support.
Joyce has previously worked in senior roles with Oxfam and UN bodies. Prior to joining AFSC, Joyce served as the director of the Ramallah Friends School, a leading K-12 Quaker school in Palestine, for 13 years, where she led a diverse staff to transform the school academically, physically and financially.
The American Friends Service Committee is a unique organisation, working in both advocacy and international development, founded in 1917 by Quakers as an alternative to military service in WW1. The organisation’s motto is that “We bring together people of all faiths and backgrounds to challenge injustice and build peace around the globe”. They are a powerful force inside the USA in advocating a range of issues, as well as funding a great range of peace programs around the world.
Ramallah Friends School began in 1869 with a number of small schools for girls. A Boys Training Home was founded in 1901 at the urging of the local community and classes became mixed in 1902. Over 1000 children now attend the school with campuses in the Palestinian towns of Ramallah and El Bireh on the West Bank. The School has carried on through decades of violence, even at times being the target of attacks, and yet has continued to thrive. The life of the school is based on Quaker principles: excellence in education, helping each per-son recognise his or her responsibility to society as a caring member of the school, community, nation and global family and Equality. A light lunch will be served prior to 12.30 pm.April QBC -
Margaret Fell's "Women's Speaking Justified"
in Modern English
The April QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is Margaret Fell's "Women's Speaking Justified" in Modern English.Written in the prison of Lancaster Castle in 1666 (appended in 1667), Margaret Fell's Women's Speaking Justified by Scripture stands out in world history as the first sustained exegetical defense of women in public ministry. Noting the facts that the God of Israel used women time and time again to challenge kings and other societal leaders in Hebrew Scripture and that the Apostle Paul ministered alongside women in his mission, Fell applies a compelling approach to understanding what the Bible is really saying, what it is not, and within its historical contexts, why. Introduced, annotated, and translated into modern English, Paul N. Anderson has rendered this classic and historic texts in a readable form, highlighting the biblical passages referenced and also expanding upon how the universal ministry of all believers can be understood more fully and meaningfully, as followers of Jesus seek to live into their spiritual callings with personal clarity and corporate support. Author: Margaret Fell, translated and annotated by Paul N. Anderson. Publisher: Barclay Press, 2026 Obtain a copy here Margaret Fell's "Women's Speaking Justified" in Modern English : Paul N Anderson (translator) : 9781594982118 : Blackwell's
e - Wahroonga Send news of f/Friends and newsletter items to quiver...@yahoo.com.au Agenda items for Business Meeting should be emailed at wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info or handed to a co-clerk. Visit us at "Our Home" First days (Sunday), 9.30 am Meeting for Worship - Wahroonga Friends Meeting, your local peace church. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 59 Boundary Road Wahroonga NSW 2076 Email:wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info Web: Wahroonga Local Meeting | Australia Yearly Meeting A Zoom meeting occurs 9.30 am Sundays Meeting link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting 918 558 7747 Passcode: 554662 Phone: 02 8015 6011 Please contact Paul Carter if you have any problems.
30,000 Protesters Rally in Tokyo Against
Gov't Moves Undermining Pacifist Constitution
People participate in a protest outside the parliament building in Tokyo, Japan, April 8, 2026.
A large crowd of Japanese people gathered outside the parliament building in Tokyo (above) on Wednesday evening to protest government moves that undermine the country's pacifist constitution, including the deployment of long-range missiles and attempts to ease restrictions on lethal arms exports.
Protesters held placards reading "Protect Article 9," "No War," and "Takaichi Government Step Down Now," while chanting slogans such as "No to constitutional revision" and "No to war," calling for safeguarding Japan's pacifist constitution.
The rally, held in front of the National Diet Building, was organized by Japanese civic groups standing against constitutional revision. Organizers said about 30,000 people attended the demonstration. One protester, identified as Fujimoto, told Xinhua that the government's deployment of long-range missiles and its plan to lift restrictions on lethal arms exports run counter to the pacifist principles enshrined in the constitution. She said missiles are weapons designed to attack and questioned whether their deployment could be justified as self-defense.
Fujimoto added that Japan, a country that suffered atomic bombings, should have the vow of "never waging war again" engraved in its history, and exporting weapons that could fuel conflicts is unacceptable. Another protester, surnamed Kin, echoed that the deployment of long-range missiles, among other government moves, violates the pacifist constitution. He said the government has increasingly acted in disregard of the constitution, which is why demonstrators gathered to protest.
According to reports by Tokyo Shimbun, similar demonstrations took place at more than 130 locations across Japan on the same day in coordination with the Tokyo rally, calling for the protection of the pacifist constitution. Japan's constitution, which took effect in 1947, is often referred to as the pacifist constitution because Article 9 states that the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.
On March 31, Japan deployed long-range missiles with "enemy base strike capabilities" in Kumamoto and Shizuoka prefectures. Japanese media have also reported that the government led by Sanae Takaichi plans to revise the "three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology" and its implementation guidelines by the end of this month, and is considering allowing exports of lethal weapons. The series of military moves has sparked strong concern and criticism from across Japanese society, with critics saying they are a departure from the country's long-standing "exclusively defense-oriented policy" and undermine the pacifist constitution. http://www.china.org.cn/2026-04/09/content_118427256.shtml 22 April - Picnic for Peace
Friends
In light of us feeling pretty negative one way or another by what is taking place in the world right now, we are hoping to start a movement that is simply quietly standing in solidarity with one another and to let everyone know "I feel it too and you are not alone."
As a committee member for Picnic for Peace, we are asking that ahead of April 22nd, your team does the following:
- Fold an origami dove (instructions attached)
- Take a group photo
- Invite picnicforpeacesydney to be a collaborator
- Schedule post for April 22 nd for any time that day
If you need assistance with this, let me know!
The only thing that you will need for this is a square piece of paper, but you can achieve the same results by chopping up an A4 piece.
In the meantime, we also ask that you share the attached flyer with your wider network and invite them, on April 22nd, to post to Instagram with their origami dove (in their hand is fine) in a place that symbolises peace to them. It would be great, if possible, to get some schools involved.
I have provided an Instagram friendly version for this too.
I am grateful for your assistance on this and continued cooperation with Picnic for Peace.
Let me know if you have any questions! 😊
Warm regards,
Cailey SharpCai...@sydneycatholic.org
Social Justice Facilitator & Internship Coordinator
Justice and Peace Office | Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
Penola House | 38 Renwick St, Leichhardt NSW 204012.30 pm 3 May - Joyce Ajlouny Visit @ Sydney City Quaker Meeting Please come at 12.30 pm 3 May and hear a fascinating speaker on Quaker advocacy, peace around the world and challenging militarism. Joyce Ajlouny joined American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as general secretary in 2017. As a Quaker, Palestinian American, Joyce started her career working in international development in Palestine, focusing on minority and refugee rights, gender equality, economic development, and humanitarian support.
Joyce has previously worked in senior roles with Oxfam and UN bodies. Prior to joining AFSC, Joyce served as the director of the Ramallah Friends School, a leading K-12 Quaker school in Palestine, for 13 years, where she led a diverse staff to transform the school academically, physically and financially.
The American Friends Service Committee is a unique organisation, working in both advocacy and international development, founded in 1917 by Quakers as an alternative to military service in WW1. The organisation’s motto is that “We bring together people of all faiths and backgrounds to challenge injustice and build peace around the globe”. They are a powerful force inside the USA in advocating a range of issues, as well as funding a great range of peace programs around the world.
Ramallah Friends School began in 1869 with a number of small schools for girls. A Boys Training Home was founded in 1901 at the urging of the local community and classes became mixed in 1902. Over 1000 children now attend the school with campuses in the Palestinian towns of Ramallah and El Bireh on the West Bank. The School has carried on through decades of violence, even at times being the target of attacks, and yet has continued to thrive. The life of the school is based on Quaker principles: excellence in education, helping each per-son recognise his or her responsibility to society as a caring member of the school, community, nation and global family and Equality. A light lunch will be served prior to 12.30 pm.April QBC -
Margaret Fell's "Women's Speaking Justified"
in Modern English
The April QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is Margaret Fell's "Women's Speaking Justified" in Modern English.Written in the prison of Lancaster Castle in 1666 (appended in 1667), Margaret Fell's Women's Speaking Justified by Scripture stands out in world history as the first sustained exegetical defense of women in public ministry. Noting the facts that the God of Israel used women time and time again to challenge kings and other societal leaders in Hebrew Scripture and that the Apostle Paul ministered alongside women in his mission, Fell applies a compelling approach to understanding what the Bible is really saying, what it is not, and within its historical contexts, why. Introduced, annotated, and translated into modern English, Paul N. Anderson has rendered this classic and historic texts in a readable form, highlighting the biblical passages referenced and also expanding upon how the universal ministry of all believers can be understood more fully and meaningfully, as followers of Jesus seek to live into their spiritual callings with personal clarity and corporate support. Author: Margaret Fell, translated and annotated by Paul N. Anderson. Publisher: Barclay Press, 2026 Obtain a copy here Margaret Fell's "Women's Speaking Justified" in Modern English : Paul N Anderson (translator) : 9781594982118 : Blackwell's
e - Wahroonga Send news of f/Friends and newsletter items to quiver...@yahoo.com.au Agenda items for Business Meeting should be emailed at wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info or handed to a co-clerk. Visit us at "Our Home" First days (Sunday), 9.30 am Meeting for Worship - Wahroonga Friends Meeting, your local peace church. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 59 Boundary Road Wahroonga NSW 2076 Email:wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info Web: Wahroonga Local Meeting | Australia Yearly Meeting A Zoom meeting occurs 9.30 am Sundays Meeting link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting 918 558 7747 Passcode: 554662 Phone: 02 8015 6011 Please contact Paul Carter if you have any problems.
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