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Two Berkeley citizens will be leaving for Japan on a mission of peace today. 

Leuren Moret and Robert Rose, members of the Citizens Environmental Advisory Commission and the Peace and Justice Commission were invited to attend the “Linking Peace and Life Conference,” which will be held in Tokyo on Feb. 17. 

Moret and Rose are both active members of the Berkeley peace movement, but they are also sweethearts. 

The two were appointed to their commissions by Councilmember Dona Spring, who has been an active figure in the budding Japanese peace coalition. 

Moret said on Tuesday that they were invited and sponsored by the National Assembly of Exchange for Peace and Democracy, a Japanese anti-war non-governmental organization. 

“My purpose on this trip is to inform and encourage as many citizens and activists as I can — to act locally but to think globally,” she said. 

Moret and Rose will be in Japan the same time as President George W. Bush, who will be kicking off a tour of Asia on Feb. 17. The president is expected to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to discuss the Japanese contribution to the rebuilding of Afghanistan. 

The conference comes at a time when Japan is debating the future of its military, Moret said. Koizumi recently came out in favor of revising Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, an anti-war provision, which was placed there after World War II. 

Spring received a visit from two members of the Japanese parliament after her proclamation against the war late last year. She said the Japanese peace movement was born in response to that. 

“There are issues Japan has in the Asian continent,” she said. “It would like to flex some military muscle.” 

Moret said she would give a speech on why Berkeley took an active role in opposition to the recent war in Afghanistan — through the actions of the City Council and Congresswoman Barbara Lee. 

“It will be about the unique combination of things in Berkeley that made these things possible,” she said.  

Rose was appointed to the Peace and Justice Commission only recently. He said Berkeley holds high stature in the global anti-war movement. 

“People are going to be turning to Berkeley for answers in the near future,” he said. 

In addition to attending the peace conference, Moret and Rose will carry a letter from Spring to representatives from Sakai, Berkeley’s sister city in Japan. 

“We would be deeply honored if other elected officials and community groups in Japan and throughout the world would consider endorsing the ‘Berkeley Resolution’ along with Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan,” the letter reads. 

Koyu Furusawa, a visiting professor of environmental socioeconomics at UC Berkeley and a Japanese citizen, showed up at a Tuesday event to see Moret and Rose off. 

Furusawa said he has participated in anti-war demonstrations in Berkeley and hopes to “stop war in Japan and the U.S.” 

“In Japan, we are very stimulated by Berkeley’s activities,” he said. 

Contact reporter Hank Sims at hank@berkeleydailyplanet.net