Urgent Statement on the Escalating Use of Force
2026.3.16
Open Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM）issues an ‘Urgent Statement on the Escalation of Force’.
This statement was approved on 16 March 2026 following the ‘Urgent Proposal’ procedure, in accordance with the ON-PAM Adovocacy Guidelines (Revised 2nd Edition).
Urgent Statement on the Escalating Use of Force
Armed invasions, conflicts, and wars are expanding across the world. In particular, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the world has witnessed Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip within the Palestinian territories, the United States’ attack on Venezuela in January 2026, and the launch of large-scale military strikes against Iran by the United States and Israel beginning on February 28. The world is now facing a new phase of escalating warfare.
We express our deep concern over this chain of armed conflicts and call on the parties involved to adhere to international law and pursue peaceful resolutions. We also urge the Japanese government to engage with the relevant countries and make efforts toward achieving peaceful solutions through dialogue and negotiation.
ON-PAM, the organization we represent, operates on the belief that the performing arts bring vitality and creativity to society as expressions of diverse values. Through international exchange in the performing arts, we work to deepen understanding of diverse cultures and values and to contribute to a multicultural society that respects the human rights of others, implementing international exchange initiatives in line with this philosophy. Guided by the same principles, we have confronted the structural problems of society—such as poverty, discrimination, ethnic and religious conflict, political inequality, and the deprivation of human rights—by reflecting on the history of violence represented by past wars and conflicts. We believe that the performing arts we stand for are also a means of critically examining contemporary society while remaining conscious of these histories.
As producers in the performing arts, we deliver the artistic value created by artists to society, encourage people’s diverse thinking and unrestricted expressions, and regard it as our important role to respect and protect the cultural rights of all people. These practices are also among the actions we can take in response to violence manifested in global conflicts, wars, and acts of destruction taking place around the world.
As a network organization grounded in the creative practices of individual performing arts producers, we will continue to cultivate international exchange and dialogue in the performing arts, creating pathways for communication through which artists and performing arts professionals can meet and connect across national borders.
At a time when global challenges such as ethnic and religious conflicts, economic crises, poverty and inequality, and environmental destruction are growing increasingly complex, we seek a world connected through imagination and dialogue rather than through conflict and division among nations. For this reason, we strongly call for the pursuit of peaceful solutions through dialogue and negotiation, in accordance with international law, rather than the further escalation of armed confrontation.
List of supporters – In order of form submission
Signed,
Board of Directors and the concerned Members of ON-PAM
The concerned members (30 persons including 8 anonymous individuals as of 30th April 2026)
Junko Uemura Takayuki Hiramatsu Hinata Chida Motoki Hata Kei Yonei Saito Chifuyu Kitahara
Tsutomu Tanaka Asako Hirokawa Shinobu Takano caco Akane Nakamura Rika Kunimatsu Asami Hori Yojun Kaneko Emi Misaka Shingo Shimada Ryuichiro Mori Yoshihito Ochiai Rin Terada Yasuhito Yano Sayaka Sango
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