Feature story - July 12, 2011
Sendai, Japan — Greenpeace has condemned Japan’s ongoing disregard for international human rights law following a decision by the Sendai High Court to uphold convictions of anti-whaling activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki.
Caption: Junichi Sato (2nd from right), executive director of Greenpeace Japan, outside Sendai Court, with his defense counsel (blue shirt) after his conviction was upheld.
© Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Greenpeace
The decision comes in spite of an official admission of wrongdoing by Japan’s Fisheries Agency last December and strong evidence supporting the allegations by the activists of criminal embezzlement in the Japanese whaling industry.
Sato and Suzuki, known as the Tokyo Two, were convicted of theft and trespass by the Aomori District Court in September 2010 after they exposed broad-scale embezzlement in Japan’s whaling industry. They were sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years. The High Court rejected all of the arguments presented by the defence, upheld the unjust convictions by the Aomori court, and gave no clear reasoning for its decision.
In January, 2008 Sato and Suzuki began an investigation into allegations of insider embezzling of whale meat by crew members in the so called ‘scientific’ whaling program in Japan. They discovered firm proof that whale meat was being secretly sold for personal profit.
Sato filed a report of embezzlement with the prosecutor’s office in Tokyo in May 2008. That office dropped an investigation a month later and instead arrested the Tokyo Two who were held in jail for 26 days, 23 without charge. In September 2010, the two were convicted.
Last December, the Fisheries Agency reprimanded five officials, formally warning two senior officials for accepting gifts of whale meat from the industry. This confirmed the allegations of broad-scale corruption. The amount of whale meat intercepted by Sato and Suzuki was worth a small fraction of the amount industry officials have now admitted taking.
The courts in Japan have not acknowledged the substantial evidence showing embezzlement and have not taken the right to investigate and criticize such practices into proper consideration. In particular, the High Court did not take the admissions by the Fisheries Agency into account. This admission of wrongdoing proves the case of the Tokyo Two.
International human rights groups and figures have expressed concern about the case of the Tokyo Two. The head of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights has also said investigations by NGOs are important to society and should be respected.
The press conference following the appeal on Ustream with simultaneous interpretation:
English: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gpjshow02
Japanese: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gpjshow
Greenpeace response to apology by the Fisheries Agency: http://bit.ly/iczhrW
Updated Whaling on trial dossier detailing the entire Tokyo Two Case:
http://bit.ly/cWd211
Japan’s vote-buying to undermine the International Whaling Commission exposed
http://bit.ly/qde7oD