Doshisha Days

When coming to Japan you will undoubtedly be confronted with peace signs anytime you have a camera in your hands. Of all the Japanese, schools girls have probably the fastest reaction time, comparable to Billy the Kid drawing his gun and firing off a few rounds. That being said, the older women in this picture had not lost their game either. A friend of mine once asked one of his Japanese friends why the peace sign is so prevalent in photographs. His friend's response sums it up nicely: "you have to do something." And I always thought that smiling was sufficient.
It should be noted that Japan's Constitution is called the "Peace Constitution" not for any clause that stipulates that everyone must use the peace sign; that rule was left off the books. The "Peace Constitution" moniker comes from Article Nine which states that:

Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

How long these two clauses remain is open to debate. Right now there is a push to reform the constitution and although talks have repeatedly stalled, that has not slowed down the loosening of restrictions that govern Self Defense Force (SDF) Operations. A recent article in the Economist argues these points as well and questions how these actions will affect Japan's relations with its neighbors. This much is clear: even if Article Nice remains, it will likely be relegated to an empty symbol, stripped of its meaning and purpose. Just like the peace signs in the photograph.