Greenpeace Japan exposed a scandal involving the corrupt and powerful whaling industry (which is funded with taxpayers’ money). Two of our activists are now awaiting trial for intercepting a box of stolen whale meat, and delivering it to the police.

Timeline

January 2008:  Greenpeace is contacted by a former whaling fleet crew member, telling them that crew members of the Japanese whaling fleet regularly take whale meat off the ships and sell it for their own profit.  The investigation into these allegations begins.


15 April:  The factory ship Nisshin Maru docks in Tokyo Harbour after its five-month whaling voyage to the Southern Ocean and crew send at least 93 boxes of “personal baggage” with a variety of labels such as “cardboard” or “salted stuff” and addressed to the private homes of crewmembers are offloaded.


16 April:  Greenpeace activists track one of the consignments to a depot in Aomori Prefecture. Junichi and Toru remove one of the boxes to verify its contents, which turn out to be not cardboard, but 23.5 kg of prime whale meat cuts, worth between 100,000 yen (US$1,000) and 300,000 yen (US$3,000).


15 May:  Concluding the four-month undercover investigation, Greenpeace Japan holds a press conference in Tokyo, exposing the full details of the whale meat embezzlement scandal.  As evidence, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki display the box of stolen whale meat that they intercepted, and then deliver it to the Public Prosecutor in Tokyo, along with a full dossier detailing the investigation, including details of the suspected crewmembers.

 
16 May:  Greenpeace hears from the media that the transportation company, Seino, has just reported a missing box to the Police – a month after it was intercepted. 


20 May:  The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office confirms that there will be an investigation into the whale meat scandal.


27 May:  Junichi and Toru send detailed statements of what they did and why they did it to the Aomori Police.


20 June:  In the early hours of the morning, the Aomori District Public Prosecutors’ Office arrests Junichi and Toru in their homes, and they are later transferred to Aomori. A request to hold them in Tokyo is denied.  Junichi and Toru are held in police detention in Aomori.

Meanwhile in Tokyo, over 40 police raid the Greenpeace Japan office - taking mobile phones, documents and computers. Homes of five staff members are also raided.

The same day the Tokyo Public Prosecutor suddenly announces that he has dropped his investigation into the whale meat scandal


22 June:  Junichi and Toru are told they will be held for another 10 days without charge or chance for bail. (Under Japanese law, they can be held for up to 23 days without charge.)


30 June:  Peaceful protests are held at Japanese embassies around the world in support of Junichi and Toru’s release and calling for a full investigation into the whale meat scandal.


1 July:  Junichi and Toru are told they will be held for a further 10 days without charge.


10 July:  A joint statement of concern is released by 35 international non-governmental organizations.


11 July:  Junichi and Toru are charged with trespass and theft, and remain in custody. 


14 July:  Amnesty International expresses its  “deep concern” to the Japanese Prime Minister at the detention of Junichi and Toru qualifying the Japanese government’s conduct as an attempt to intimidate activists and NGO’s. A quarter of a million people have emailed the Prime Minister, asking for release of the Tokyo Two.


15 July:  Junichi and Toru are granted bail by an Aomori judge. The prosecutor immediately appeals the decision, but his appeal is turned down. After 26 days in police detention Junichi and Toru are finally released, but still face criminal prosecution.

Over 252,000 people around the world sent messages of support while Junichi and Toru were detained.