Women's rights groups, including the descendants of the former Filipino sex slave victims, demanded the Japanese government to uphold the peace provision in its constitution as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. headed to Japan to secure new defense and economic deals.

Hours before the departure of Marcos for his first state visit to Japan, the members of Lila Pilipina, Gabriela and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan staged a protest action in front of the Japanese Embassy in Pasay City on Tuesday.

The group was stopped by police guarding the Embassy when they tried to move closer to its gate during the rally.

The rally was participated by 22 people, including the grandchildren of the comfort women who are still seeking justice even after the death of their grandmothers who were forced to sexual slavery during the Second World War.

"Our lola (grandmother) passed away without getting any justice or even an apology. We are here for justice and we do not want another eruption of violence here, they should just do that in their country," Mila Lozada said in Tagalog.

Lozada, 66, joined the rally to represent his grandmother, Lola Flora Banton, a former comfort woman who died in 2014.

In her speech, Lila Pilipina executive director and coordinator Sharon Cabusao-Silva stressed that Marcos visit to Japan "comes at the heels of the Japanese government's recent revision of the operational guidelines for transfers of defense equipment, completely lifting the ban on the export of lethal weapons, inspite of massive protest in Japan as well over the matter."

"This lifting essentially degrades post-war Japan's commitment to world peace as enshrined in its constitution, and puts Japan right back on the path of interventionism and remilitarization," she said.

"We demanded that the Japanese government uphold the peace provision in its constitution. It must face up to its responsibility and squarely address the "comfort women" issue by accepting the victims' demands for official apology, reparation and historical inclusion," she added.

In a previous interview, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Analyn Ratonel said the Philippines and Japan are expected to announce new "defense, trade, investment and human resources" deals during the state visit of Marcos from May 26 to 29, 2026. Robina Asido/PHS