Statement of Protest against September 11 Repression of leafleting against Tree Nurturing Festival in Ibaraki

Original Text in Japanese: https://ikuju-ibaraki.hatenablog.com/entry/2024/09/13/065912
Date of Publication: 2024/09/14

In the early morning of September 11, 2024, the Ibaraki Prefectural Police (IPP) raided at the homes of our comrades, A-san and B-san. They searched their homes and arrested them on charge of trespassing. We strongly protest against the IPP and demand their immediate release.

The charge is that on October 5 last year, they entered the campus of a university in the prefecture when they went there to distribute leaflets. The leaflets called for opposition to the 46th National Tree Nurturing Festival in Ibaraki, which was to be held on October 11 and 12 in Itako-shi and Mito-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture. The leafleting on that day ended without any trouble. No wonder. Spreading leaflets is one of the basic elements of social movements, and it is a concrete action of exercising the fundamental human right of freedom of expression. In other words, it is an exercise of a right guaranteed by the Constitution of Japan. What is wrong with it? Based on the fact that before and during World War II, the academic freedom and freedom of expression were suppressed, universities should celebrate these rights to the fullest extent. This arrest is a serious violation of the fundamental human right to freedom of expression, and a repression of social movements.

At the same time, it is also clear that the arrests are a more targeted suppression of the movement by the authorities. Why did the Ibaraki Prefectural Police arrest the two after a year had passed? Perhaps it was because the content of the flyer was against the imperial event called the Tree Nurturing Festival (TNF), or more specifically, against the emperor system. The TNF is a strange ritual in which trees are planted by the emperor and empress at a TNF and then many years later, the royal family "take care of" them. At last year's TNF, Prince Akishino took care of the trees. The purpose of this ceremony is said to "spread awareness of the importance of continuously protecting and nurturing forests and to cultivate the public's love for forests," but it has also the contradiction of cutting down a number of trees in the forest just to hold the TNF. Even if one is not against the emperor system, this event should rightly be criticized. The powers that be will never allow a movement that opposes such an event from an anti-emperor system standpoint. In other words, this arrest is a suppression against the anti-emperor movement.

There has always been suppression of freedom of expression that is undesirable to the power. Each time suppression has happened, we have a history of repelling the oppression. This arrest is certainly meant to suppress the anti-emperor system movement, but from the perspective of the authorities, it is a foothold for further restrictions on the basic human rights and suppression of social movements. We must not allow this to happen.

We protest the September 11 crackdown and demand the IPP to release the arrested A-san and B-san as soon as possible.

September 14, 2024
The Relief Group of Ibaraki anti-Tree Nurturing Festival Leafleting Suppression

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