Japan Press Weekly

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2017 July 5 - 11 [POLITICS]

Rally held to demand cancellation of punishment of unionized gov’t worker for criticizing Henoko base construction

A rally took place on July 6 in Okinawa’s Naha City to protest against the Abe government punishing a government workers’ union officer who criticized the construction of a new U.S. base in the Henoko district during off-duty hours, demanding the revocation of the punishment.

The rally was organized by the Okinawa local of the Japan Federation of National Public Service Employees’ Unions (Kokko-roren) which is affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).

Former chair of a trade union for workers at the Cabinet Office’s Okinawa General Bureau Nakazato Takayuki was issued an admonitory warning on the grounds that he criticized the Abe government for moving forward with the Henoko base construction in an Akahata interview which he gave on his day off.

In the rally, Nakazato said, “I remain unconvinced of the legality of the punishment for my statement as a union member,” expressing his determination to fight against such unfair treatment by the government.

Umezawa Sakae, who is a vice president of the Kokko-roren Okinawa chapter, said that the union will urge the Abe administration to withdraw its punishment order to Nakazato, respect union workers’ right to freedom of expression, and suspend the new U.S. base construction in Henoko.

A representative of the Rengo-affiliated public workers’ union delivered a speech in solidarity.