Tension is rising as round two of the Tokyo Two trial starts today in Aomori, Japan, where Greenpeace activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are on trial in Japan for their role in exposing major corruption in the government funded whaling industry. This week they get to give evidence for the first time, and the whistleblower who alerted them to the embezlement scandal will also take the stand. Watch the video above for an update on the story so far...
There are still concerns over the fairness of the trial, however, as the members of the whaling crew who received the stolen whalemeat look as though they may be able to avoid giving evidence. Apparently there is no mechanism in Japan's legal system to enforce defence witnesses to attend!
It's decisions like these that caused a division of the United Nations Human Rights Council to rule recently that the Tokyo Two's human rights have been breached by the Japanese justice system. This is the first ever such ruling of its kind for Japan.
Junichi and Toru have put their freedom and rights on the line to defend whales - please pledge your support for them. Tell the Japanese government that it is whaling that should be on trial, not those who oppose it.
We will ensure that your pledge is communicated to the government of Japan as we show the strong level of support behind Junichi and Toru during their trial.
You can follow updates from the trial on our Facebook page, or by following the Twitter list @Greenpeace/whaletrial or #whaletrial.
