Case against JCP supporter for putting up election poster dropped

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Case against JCP supporter for putting up election poster dropped

A man in Kobe City who was arrested on July 9 for putting up Japanese Communist Party election posters has been released .The Kobe District Prosecutors Office on June 29 decided not to prosecute him.

Kato Kanji, 65, a JCP supporters’ association member, put up posters on a traffic light pole and a road sign pole in preparation for a street campaign as a part of the JCP Upper House election campaign. The police arrested him for “violating” the Public Offices Election Law. He has exercised the right to keep silent during his 20-day detention.

Nationwide, there were many election campaign posters which were put up on traffic lights and other utility poles but were not targeted for crackdowns. The local JCP and the People’s Relief and Aid Association criticized the unjust arrest of Kato and demanded that he be released and not indicted.

After the release, Kato said to his supporters, “Thank you for your efforts calling for my immediate release in front of the police station everyday in the hot summer sun. Without your support, I could not have kept silent before the interrogators who were shouting at me.”

- Akahata, July 30, 2010