Japan Press Weekly

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2019 February 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

Anti-base activists urge Okinawa Defense Bureau to discard collected personal data of Henoko base protesters

An anti-base civil group in Okinawa Prefecture on February 8 made representations to the Defense Ministry’s local bureau, demanding the disclosure and removal of a list containing personal information of people participating in protest actions against the Henoko base project.

Regarding the list in question, Mainichi Shimbun on January 28 reported on the alleged involvement of Okinawa Defense Bureau officials in compiling the list of names. The list was compiled in 2016 by a private security company which received a contract to cope with anti-base activists.

Civil group members cited the fact that the defense bureau has been monitoring and photographing Henoko base protestors and urged the bureau to uncover the truth behind the allegation. In response, Defense Bureau Director General Tanaka Toshihiro said that the bureau gave no instructions to the security company to create the list and added that the national government is taking the lead in the investigation of the allegation so he has no concrete information.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Akamine Seiken joined in the representation and criticized the Okinawa Defense Bureau for designating local people opposing the Henoko base construction as “outlaws”. He expressed his determination to investigate the matter thoroughly in the Diet.