As a member of the Sagami Group to Protect Article 9, I am appalled by Andreas Kolb's June 10 letter. Kolb says Article 9 did not protect Japan from the Cold War and won't protect Japan from terrorists and fascists. But if Japan keeps its war-renouncing Constitution and refrains from suppressing other people, it does not need to fear terrorist attacks. Kolb goes on to say that Article 9 must be changed and maybe dropped. Why, indeed? Kolb's brave idea has not stopped the fighting among human beings.

He says global political structures have changed and new threats have arisen. Yes, the Soviet Union crumbled after many years of evildoings, including suppressing its own peoples, violating the Japan-Soviet Neutrality Treaty, taking Japanese soldiers to Siberia for forced labor, and selfishly grabbing Japan's northern islands of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai and Shikotan.

Despite Kolb's brave attitude, the glory of Article 9 is that the Self-Defense Forces of Japan have not killed a single soldier of any other country since the end of World War II. I don't believe that the spirit of Japan's Constitution will save the world from total destruction — after all, human beings have nuclear weapons in their hands. But if the U.S. had had an Article 9 in its constitution, former President George W. Bush would not have invaded Iraq in 2003. And what did Bush's gallant, warlike decision accomplish for Iraq? So many innocent civilians, including women and children, lost their precious lives, and the U.S. lost more than 4,000 soldiers.

Nations with nuclear weapons should abolish them, and all countries on Earth should begin a joint project of transforming deserts into green fields and woods by irrigating the dry lands and planting trees to stop global warming.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

naoshi koriyama