tokyo two

Whaling activist Junuchi Sato of the Tokyo Two descibes his experiences at the hands of the Japanese criminal justice system...

While Japan's criminal justice system may look OK from a distance, once you get close enough to smell and taste it for yourself, it becomes repulsively clear just how curdled and rotten it is.

Greenpeace activists got a good reception at the Japanese Consulate in Edinburgh yesterday when they handed in a wishing tree* full of requests for justice for the Tokyo Two.

Hannah hard at work colouring in our Tokyo Two manga-style artwork outside the Japanese embassy last week

A big thank you is due to everyone who sent messages of support on behalf of the Tokyo Two last week. We presented two 'wishing trees' (complete with hundreds of 'wish ribbons' bearing your requests that they are fairly treated) to staff at the Japanese embassy, and over 2,200 of you emailed the Japanese ambassador.

We've been out and about this morning at the Japanese embassy in London to show our support for the Tokyo Two. Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are two brave whaling campaigners who are facing prison terms for exposing a major embezzlement scandal at the heart of the Japanese whaling industry.

This blog was originally posted by Lisa on our Making Waves weblog.

Toru Suzuki is one of our activists in Japan, now facing a maximum of 10 years in prison for exposing a crime at the heart of Japan's whaling industry.

The so-called 'scientific' whaling fleet has now returned to port from the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary for what we hope will be the last time, and it is almost one year since Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki exposed the embezzlement of whale meat by the fleet's crew.

Junichi and Toru are still on trial for their efforts to expose this crime, however, recently their bail conditions were relaxed slightly, enabling them to come back to work – just not with each other.

This article by Lisa first appeared on our Making Waves weblog on 10th April.

Junichi on his first day back in the Greenpeace Japan office

After nine months of disconnection from their colleagues and workplace, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki walked back into the Greenpeace Japan office last week like long-missed adventurers finally home.

Of course they did not come in on the same day, as while the bail conditions binding them have been relaxed enough for them to speak to their colleagues and come back to work, there are still a lot of kilometres left on their road, and they still cannot communicate directly with one another or be in the same place at the same time.

Whaling on Trial from Greenpeace on Vimeo.

My colleague Maarten over at Greenpeace International has just released this video telling the story of Junichi Satu and Toru Suzuki (the Tokyo Two), the anti-whaling activists soon to be tried in Japan for the supposedly heinous crime of informing their government that crew members on the whaling ships were stealing meat and selling it on the black market.

Following a tip-off from an an informant working in the whaling industry, they obtained a box of stolen whale meat, held a press conference and asked for an investigation. The result? Amazingly the government exonerated the whalers after little or no investigation, and put Junichi and Toru on trial instead. Hmmm, sounds like some people in high places over there are willing to go to extreme lengths to stop the Japanese public hearing the truth about what the government insists is a purely 'scientific' programme.

Lanterns carrying the image of Toru Suzuki at Japanese Embassy vigil in support of the Tokyo Two, Washington DC, Feb 17 2009

My very wonderful Greenpeace International colleague Elaine has just published the February edition of the month in pictures series, highlighting a range of Greenpeace actions around the world. February's top shots range from locations in Mexico, Nigeria and Russia and cover campaign issues including e-waste, the upcoming trial of the Tokyo Two, forest fires and, of course, climate change - all in a handy slideshow format.

For more images and slideshows from our campaigns around the world, check out the photos, audio and videos section of our international website.