Japan PM Takaichi heckled with anti-war slogans at Okinawa ceremony

TOKYO – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was heckled on June 23 with anti-war slogans during a ceremony in the southern island prefecture of Okinawa to mark 81 years since the end of a fierce battle on Japanese soil in World War II. Takaichi, a security hawk pushing to strengthen Japan’s defence posture in the face of an assertive China and North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, was met with chants, “No to war” and “Protect Article 9“ of the pacifist Constitution that renounces war. The commotion contrasted with the otherwise solemn atmosphere at the event marking the end of the…