Feature story - July 16, 2010
Two years ago, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, two Japanese Greenpeace activists conducted a public interest investigation into corruption in the Japanese whaling industry. The two activists (now known as the 'Tokyo Two') exposed the corruption and embezzlement behind the Japanese government's whaling programme.
A sketch of the Tokyo Two in court
However, instead of investigating their claims, Japan has put these two men on trial, and on the 8th of June the prosecutor asked for the Tokyo Two to serve 18 months in jail - the longest jail term for any Greenpeace activist in the organisation's forty-year history. The verdict on their sentence will be made in September.
We are at a pivotal time in the history of whale conservation, and these two men face very real jail terms. Greenpeace Africa is doing what we can to support the Tokyo Two, and we are asking people to write to Japan's Foreign Minister and demand justice for the activists:
A total of 50,000 signatures are needed. Please take a moment to fill in the form and ask people you know to fill it in too. This is really a greater question of activism not being a crime, and we need to defend that. These men face a jail term for peaceful protest which was in the public interest - one of the core values of Greenpeace. Make a difference and take action!
Find out more about the jail term that they are facing.