Japan Press Weekly

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2013 December 4 - 10 [POLITICS]

Anti-TPP rally takes place in Tokyo

Around 2,700 citizens took part in a rally in Tokyo on December 10 to urge the government to withdraw from the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks.

This rally was jointly organized by civil groups such as women’s, lawyers’, and university teachers’ organizations. The number of civic groups supporting this event reached 156.

With the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of this year, the Abe Cabinet is negotiating on the elimination of tariffs on farm products, including rice and wheat, with other parties at the TPP ministerial meeting in Singapore starting December 7.

Yamane Kaori, the chair of the Housewives’ Federation (Shufuren), called for stopping the Abe administration from running wild, saying, “It is outrageous that the government is working on an agreement that will threaten our livelihoods without disclosing the details of the negotiations.”

Daigo Satoshi, a University of Tokyo professor emeritus, said, “We have responsibility to protect agriculture for future generations, which our predecessors had developed over the centuries. It’s time to show our real strength as sovereign citizens.”

Soga Itsuro, the head of Nakagawa Village in Nagano Prefecture, stressed that Japan’s entry into the free trade pact will undermine municipalities’ efforts to hand over the agricultural, mountain, and fishing villages to future generations.

Japanese Communist Party member of the Upper House Kami Tomoko and Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) Secretary Baba Toshihiko delivered addresses as well. Japan Medical Association President Yokokura Yoshitake and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad sent messages in solidarity to the gathering.

After the rally, participants paraded in a street demonstration through the Ginza district holding various placards and banners.