Japan Press Weekly

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2015 December 2 - 8 [POLITICS]

Police unjustly arrest sit-in protesters opposing US base construction in Okinawa

The Nago Police in Okinawa arrested three men on December 5 who were taking part in a sit-in in front of the gate of U.S. Camp Schwab in protest against the ongoing construction of a U.S. military base in the prefecture.

On that day, riot police officers dispatched from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department stormed into the crowds of protesters there to disperse them. Amid the confusion, the police detained the three men, including the secretary-general of the Okinawa United Action Liaison Council (Toitsuren) who had led the sit-in action. The law enforcement officers said that the charge against them is “obstructing police duties”.

Later in the day, Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Akamine Seiken met with the detainees in the police office to offer them encouragement. Outside the building, about 100 citizens gathered to demand their immediate release.

At the rally in front of the police station, Akamine stressed, “The Abe government should know that it is absolutely impossible to weaken the local opposition to the construction project by putting pressure on Okinawans to not resist.”

On the following day, some 60 people again thronged to the police station, holding placards reading “No to unwarranted arrest” and “Release our comrades!”

Toitsuren representative Nakamura Tsukasa said using a loudspeaker, “It’s totally unacceptable to unjustly take peaceful, non-violent protesters into custody. If authorities are allowed to act like this, Japan will turn into an authoritarian state.”

Past related article:
> Pro-US base lawmakers in Nago urge cities nationwide to support base construction [November 27, 2015]