Tokyo Two Action in the United States

Greenpeace activists hold lanterns and a banner with the images of Toru Suzukiand Junichi Sato at the Japanese Embassy. Junichi and Toru, the Tokyo Two, were charged with theft and trespass after they exposed a major scandal around the embezzlement of whale meat from the Japanese government-sponsored Southern Ocean whaling program. Greenpeace USA Executive Director Mike Clark is at right and Oceans Campaigner Phil Kline at left.

Unique identifier: GP01ORI

Type: Image

Shoot date: 18/02/2009

Locations: North America, United States of America, Washington, D.C.

Credit line: © Tim Aubry / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Tokyo Two Action in the United States

Greenpeace activists hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Japanese embassy in Washington demanding an end to the political persecution of the two Greenpeace anti-whaling activists, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, and an end to Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean. The two Greenpeace activists exposed corruption in the taxpayer-funded whaling industry, but were themselves arrested in a crackdown on Greenpeace itself in Tokyo. A quarter of a million Greenpeace supporters wrote to the Prime Minister to demand their release. The arrest was denounced by Amnesty International, and fits a pattern of repression of the rights of free speech in Japan which has been condemned by the United Nations. Actions at Japanese embassies around the world are scheduled during the week. The activists protesting declare themselves as 'co-defendants', by asking the Japanese government to 'Arrest Me Too' and to put 'Whaling on Trial'. The group challenges the Prime Minister to set Junichi and Toru free, and end the corrupt whaling program, or order their own arrest for daring to oppose the whaling program. 30,000 people have also signed petitions declaring themselves complicit in Junichi and Toru's actions, and state that if defending whales is a crime, they too are guilty.

Related Collections:

Tokyo Two Stand Trial (Photo & Videos)

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