Japan Press Weekly

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2014 February 5 - 11 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

‘Red purge’ victims file claim at bar association for relief

A group of 14 survivors and bereaved families of victims of the “red purge” in Kanagawa Prefecture on February 5 filed at the Yokohama Bar Association a claim for relief from human rights violations during a major anti-communist purge under the U.S. occupation.

The 14 petitioners include three “red purge” victims who had been expelled due to a frenzy of anti-communism from U.S. military facilities in Japan they had been working at. This is the first time that ex-workers of U.S. military bases in Japan joined an action of this kind. They claimed that their expulsion from their workplaces by the U.S forces under the guise of “dismissal for security purposes” was unlawful and unfair.

This was the second action organized by a civil group working for “red purge” victims in the prefecture.

When the group submitted the first claim in May 2006, the bar association acknowledged that to kick out Japanese Communist Party members from workplaces as subversive activists had violated people’s freedom of thought and conscience as well as trampled on the Japanese Constitution. It also recommended that the government help to recover victims’ honor and compensate them for damages.


Past related articles:
> High court rejects appeal by ‘Red Purge’ victims [October 25, 2012]
> Japanese ‘Red Purge’ victims seek apology from US [February 14, 2012]
> 60 years since ‘red purge,’ victims still fight for restoration of honor [December 9, 2010]
> Bar association demands restoration of ‘red purge’ victims’ honor [September 2, 2010]