"What we have to remind ourselves of is that the United States went to the war despite international opposition," said Rei Shiba, a 27-year-old journalist.

Shiba returned to Japan this month after spending more than two weeks in Iraq as a human shield guarding a water treatment facility south of Baghdad.

"I saw with my eyes thousands of Iraqi nationals being killed. The war is not yet over. People of Iraq are suffering. This is not liberation," said Shiba, who helped organised the march.

A coalition of some 50 non-government organisations, along with many individuals, helped organised the march, called World Peace Now.

Police estimated the number of participants at roughly "several thousand".

However, some at the event said about 10,000 people attended the march.

College student Isao Araki, 23, walked with friends, holding signs bearing anti-war messages.

"We in Japan, it is a peaceful nation. We are against war, any war anywhere," he said.

"We want people to have festivals, rather than making war."

Housewife Kazuko Omura, 57, said she wanted no more war for the sake of children.

"I want the war (in Iraq) to end quickly. That's why I am here," she said. "For the sake of children, I want all wars to end, not just in Iraq."

Shiba said it was important to maintain the momentum of the global anti-war movement.

"A reason why I was able to survive in Iraq and to come home was because a civic, anti-war movement around the world pressured the United States not to conduct extremely massive bombing in Iraq," he said.

"Without the international anti-war movement, things in Iraq could have been a lot worse."

He added the international community must ensure Iraq's reconstruction be done within the UN framework.

"We must prevent US-led reconstruction, under which we might see only American companies benefit from business contracts to rebuild the country," he said.

SPACE.WIRE