Peace Boat Participants Join Global Call to “Move the Money” During Military Spending Action

On May 8, 2025, as Peace Boat’s 120th Global Voyage crossed the equator and entered the Southern Hemisphere, participants marked the moment with more than a geographical milestone — they joined a growing international movement demanding a shift from military spending to investment in peace, climate action, and social justice.

As part of the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS), running from April 10 to May 9, Peace Boat held a powerful day of action at sea. GDAMS is an initiative of the Global Campaign on Military Spending (GCOMS) and aims to raise awareness of the world’s escalating military budgets and the costs to people and the planet. Peace Boat has held actions onboard the ship and in Tokyo since the campaign began thirteen years ago. 

The action onboard took place just days after the release of new global military expenditure figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). On April 28, SIPRI reported that global military spending reached an unprecedented $2.718 trillion in 2024, a 37 percent increase since 2015, marking the tenth consecutive yearly increase. Japan's military spending rose by 21 percent to $55.3 billion — its highest annual increase since 1952 — raising Japan’s military burden to 1.4 percent of GDP, the highest level since 1958.

Against the backdrop of these alarming figures, Peace Boat staff member Kaya Nagoyo delivered an onboard lecture with a clear and accessible breakdown of the SIPRI data and its implications. Kaya explained how public money — taxpayer funds — is being redirected from public services into the coffers of private arms companies. In 2024, eight of the ten largest arms producers reported increased profits. At the same time, governments claim there are not enough funds for health care, education, or climate action. 

Kaya made a powerful appeal to shift global resources away from preparing for war and militarism, and instead invest in real human security — through welfare, equality, and urgent climate action. She highlighted the staggering contrast between military spending and climate finance, noting that while governments are struggling to meet the long-promised target of $100 billion per year in climate finance, they have no difficulty allocating over $2.7 trillion to military budgets. This imbalance, she warned, reflects distorted global priorities that threaten both people and planet.

She also addressed the deeper dangers of rising military spending, noting that militarisation in itself increases the risk of conflict. More weapons in the hands of governments fuel fear and suspicion, leading to arms races and increased political tensions. Governments become more likely to justify wars to sustain rising defense budgets, while arms companies lobby for further militarisation, profiting from conflict and instability. As Peace Boat sailed near the Indian Ocean, Kaya also touched on the growing crisis between India and Pakistan — an example of how regional military build-ups can lead to real and immediate danger for people and ecosystems.

Following the lecture, participants, staff, officers, and even the ship’s captain gathered on the deck for a photo action in solidarity with GDAMS under the the appeal for this year's campaign "War Costs Us the Earth". Together, they held handmade placards calling for a shift in global priorities: “Welfare not Warfare,” “Defund War,” “Move the Money,” and “Defend People and Planet.” 

A similar action also took place at the Peace Boat Center in Tokyo, where staff held their own lecture and photo action to raise awareness of Japan’s rising military budget and call for public funds to be redirected toward peace and sustainability. 

This event onboard was part of Peace Boat’s Time for Peace project, a central theme of the 120th Global Voyage, which marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War. The project asks how far we have come in building a peaceful world — and how far we still have to go. With rising military spending, growing nuclear threats, and worsening global inequality, the need to shift resources away from war and toward life has never been more urgent.

GDAMS reminds us that peace is not passive. It is built through action, education, and solidarity. As Kaya concluded in her lecture, “If war breaks out, the whole world suffers. Let us raise our voices and say: stop the war.”

Fund peace, not profit. Invest in people and the planet, not in war. War costs us the earth.