Yes, in Iji, near-pacifism is an option. I played the game the pacifist way, and it's perfectly doable on normal difficulty. There are only 2 or 3 kills of living beings you really have to make in this game, all the others are optional (or accidental, in my case). The whole point of making this possible was to make a statement about the use of violence.
In many video games, the only way to get anywhere is to use violence against your opponents. But if you go through the game killing everyone in sight in what aspect then are you different from your opponents? But if go through it, you trying to kill as few people as possible, then it shows that you're ethically on a higher level. Often, there's a better solution than using violence. That was the statement my friend was trying to make. So I reccommend you play the game in the violent way first, and then in the pacifist way. The difference will be noticeable.
