Sitting upright across from the Diet building, the protesters say they know their fight against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is going to take a heavy toll on them. But they say they have to do it nonetheless.
Determined to foil an attempt to bulldoze key security legislation through the Diet, four university students began a hunger strike on Thursday afternoon. They say they are determined to "risk their lives" to succeed.
"We're aware that going on a hunger strike in the summer heat risks putting our lives in danger. But we're doing this nonetheless — that's how determined we are," said Daisuke Motoki, a 22-year-old law student at Senshu University in Tokyo.