SEALDs
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| 自由と民主主義のための学生緊急行動 | |
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| Abbreviation | SEALDs |
|---|---|
| Formation | 3 May 2015 |
| Founder | Aki Okuda (co-founder) |
| Dissolved | 15 August 2016 |
| Type | Student activist group |
| Location |
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| Members | ~400 core members |
SEALDs, short for Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (自由と民主主義のための学生緊急行動, Jiyū to minshu shugi no tame no gakusei kinkyū kōdō), was a student activist organisation in Japan that organised protests against the ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2015 and 2016. Its focus was on the Legislation for Peace and Security enacted in 2015 that allow the Japanese Self-Defense Force to be deployed overseas in certain conditions.
Most of the core members of the SEALDs were involved with a predecessor movement, Students Against Secret Protection Law (SASPL), that protested against Shinzo Abe's Special Secrecy Law from February to December 2014.[1] After the secrecy law was passed, the members went on to form SEALDs on May 3, 2015, Constitution Memorial Day in Japan, to highlight what they believed was Shinzo Abe's blatant disregard of the Constitution. They were especially worried that the Abe cabinet, which enjoyed a majority in both Houses of the Japanese Parliament, would railroad their legislation to reinterpret Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defence and potentially deploy troops on foreign soil.[1] Such legislation was passed on September 19, 2015.
