Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, known as the Tokyo Two, have been
denied their liberty for 138 days, since exposing corruption within
the annual so-called scientific research whaling programme last
May. They will be put on trial early next year, and face up to 10
years in jail for intercepting whale meat stolen by crew from the
whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru. (1)
As a consequence, Greenpeace will not be sending a ship to the
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary this year. Instead it will focus all
of its efforts in Japan in order to ensure that the whaling
programme, and not the Greenpeace activists, is on trial.
Just days after Greenpeace was instrumental in causing the
whaling fleet's supply ship Oriental Bluebird - which
carries fuel for the fleet and takes processed and boxed meat from
the factory ship - to lose its Panamanian flag, potentially cutting
this years' hunt in half(2),
Greenpeace is calling on whale defenders worldwide to become
co-defendants with the Tokyo Two.
To date, a quarter of a million people have called on Japan's
prime minister to drop the charges and release the activists(3). To coincide with the 60th
anniversary of the adoption of the United Nation's Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in December, and running through until
the trial, Greenpeace plans to mobilise tens of thousands of people
to declare themselves co-defendants with the Tokyo Two, to give
evidence against the whaling programme and support Sato and
Suzuki.
"Junichi and Toru's trial is politically motivated; if the
Japanese government wants to make political prisoners out of people
who oppose whaling then they are going to have to take a lot more
prisoners," said Greenpeace International Whales Campaign
Coordinator Sara Holden. "Anyone who wants to end whaling, from
heads of state to high school students, should declare themselves
co-defendants in this case and help us work towards making sure
this trial delivers a damning judgment on whaling and not Junichi
and Toru."
Greenpeace also plans to bring additional pressure upon
governments who every year condemn the whale hunt, but take no real
action. "If whale-friendly countries had invested real political
will and power in opposing whaling in the Southern Ocean it could
have be ended years ago," said Holden. "There is still time to stop
the whaling fleet from leaving port later this month. As a first
step all whale-friendly governments should follow Australia's
example by appointing a Whale Envoy and dispatching them to
Japan."
"After many expeditions to defend the whales in the Southern
Ocean Whale Sanctuary Greenpeace has saved hundreds of whales. We
have placed ourselves between the harpoon and the whale. Our
actions have taken the plight of the whales to the top of the
political agenda," said Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of
Greenpeace Japan. "But, if we are to bring this hunt to an end, we
have to bring change in Tokyo."
"We have been building opposition from within Japan, and it is
clear from the extreme reaction by the authorities to silence our
activists and threaten the closure of the Greenpeace Japan office
operation in the country(4),
that we have shaken the establishment. We will not cave in under
pressure, but instead will re-direct it back into the heart of the
whaling establishment."
Other contacts: Dave Walsh, Greenpeace International Media, in Ireland:
+35 387 220 7023
Keiko Shirokawa, Greenpeace Japan Media, in Tokyo:
+81 90 3470 7884
Greenpeace International press desk: +31 20 718 2470
Notes: (1) Greenpeace investigation: Japan's stolen whale meat scandal, 15 May, 2008. Sato and Suzuki were arrested on June 20th, and spent 26 days in custody before being charged. Bail conditions require that they request permission to be away from home for more than three days.
(2) It is estimated that the vessel, Oriental Bluebird, is responsible for taking around 50 percent of the whaling fleet's catch back to Japan. Japan has ratified an international treaty which seeks to end the practice of 'flag hopping' to evade environmental law. With the Bluebird now looking for a new flag, after its owners de-registered her following a ruling in Panama to fine its owners for violating an environmental treaty, the government is duty-bound not to rely on the vessel's services for at least three years.
(3) More than 250,000 Greenpeace supporters sent protest emails to the Japanese prime minister, asking him to release the activists. In addition, a joint statement of concern was issued to the prime minister by 35 international non-governmental organisations, which included Amnesty International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)and Humane Society International. A motion to release the men was passed in the Australian parliament and questions raised in the UK parliament.
(4) In addition to the arrest of Sato and Suzuki, the TokyoMetropolitan Government is also investigating Greenpeace Japan, and has the power to shut the organisation down.