On July 15th, 2007, Falun Gong practitioners held a rally and march in downtown Tokyo to protest the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s eight-year-long brutal persecution of Falun Gong. Former members of the House of Representatives and local council members sent letters of support for the event. Tokyo metropolitan assemblyman Akihiro Hatsushika went to the rally venue to support the practitioners. A march was held after the rally. The procession consisted of a waist drum team, banners exposing the persecution, news of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and slogans promoting withdrawals from the CCP. The practitioners passed by many busy business areas in Tokyo. Passers-by were shocked to learn of the CCP's illegal organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. Some people were attracted by the music and waist drum team, and took photos of the procession. Some even had their photos taken with the procession as a background.
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| Grand anti-persecution march in Tokyo |
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| Tokyo metropolitan assemblyman Akihiro Hatsushika gave a speech at the rally |
At the rally, practitioner Tsuruzono Masaaki of the Falun Dafa Association of Japan read a statement. The statement indicated that on July 20th, 1999, Jiang Zemin's regime initiated the persecution of Falun Gong and claimed it would eliminate Falun Gong within three months. However, eight years later, the CCP is facing complete disintegration due to its persecution of righteous belief.
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| Practitioner Tsuruzono Masaaki of the Falun Dafa Association of Japan reads a statement |
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| People accept truth-clarification literature and watch the march in front of JR Harajuku Train Station |
The statement also pointed out that Falun Gong has spread worldwide and that more people are paying attention to the killing of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Video: A march opposing the persecution in Tokyo
As of July 14th, the deaths of 3,064 practitioners in the persecution have been documented. More than 6,000 practitioners have been illegally sentenced to prison and more than ten thousand have been sent to forced labour camps. Due to China's information blockade, it is hard to know the number of practitioners who have been taken away by the police and ended up missing.
It is even more shocking that CCP doctors harvest organs from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit and cremate their remains to eliminate evidence. The atrocity has brought forth strong condemnation from the international community. In April 2006, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) was established to conduct an independent and unrestricted investigation of the CCP's labour camps and concentration camps.
Tokyo metropolitan assemblyman Akihiro Hatsushika spoke at the rally venue on July 15th. He said, "As a politician, I think that before the Olympic Games, the hosting country needs to become a country that respects human rights, especially the right to life. If your activity in Japan can help the Japanese people and the government recognise the CCP's ignorance of human rights and make other countries exert pressure to China, I would be pleased. From now on, let me stand with you and help you in your mission."
In addition, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hirosato Nakatsugawa, and a Tokyo metropolitan assemblyman sent letters of support. A city council member of Hiroshima stated in his letter, "In a country the size of China, such persecution is still going on. It is a sorrow for human beings. The persecution must be stopped. CCP high level officials must resign."
Makino Seisyu, a former member of the House of Representatives who has paid attention to the persecution for years, condemned the CCP's eight-year-long persecution in his letter and pointed out, "The eight-year-long persecution is against the wishes of Heaven. These eight years show it is also time to drive the CCP out of the world." He concluded, "I take this opportunity to present my condolences to those Falun Gong practitioners who sacrificed their lives for their belief and freedom and did not yield to the CCP regime."
After the rally, at 2:30 p.m., a procession about two to three hundred metres long started marching, passing through a busy downtown area. The waist drum team caught the attention of shoppers and shop owners who looked out or stepped out to watch.
In JP Harajuku Train Station, passers-by were pleased to see the procession. Many people took photos of the waist drum team and some had photos taken with the procession in the background.
A young Japanese couple was shocked at the CCP's harvesting of organs and openly talked about it. Many passers-by accepted truth-clarification literature.
During the two-hour-long march, the waist drum team played continuously. Some of the members were over sixty years old. Their playing was powerful and confident, their expressions solemn.
Practitioners also held banners that read, "Falun Dafa is Good," "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," "Falun Dafa Spreads Around the World," "The CCP Kills Falun Gong Practitioners and Sells their Organs," "The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party Expose the CCP's Evil Nature," "Heaven Will Destroy the CCP: Quit the CCP to Ensure a Safe Future," "Global Support for 24 Million Chinese Who Quit the CCP," and "Immediately Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong and Conduct an Investigation of the Persecution."
Young practitioners distributed literature to shops and residents along the procession path.
On the day of the rally, the fourth largest typhoon in history attacked the islands of Japan. As the typhoon approached Tokyo, at noon on July 15th, Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the park as planned. "March during a typhoon? Do practitioners not have fear?" asked a police officer, worrying about their safety. The rain suddenly became lighter as the rally started. At 2:30 p.m., when the march began, the typhoon was merely drizzle. The typhoon left Japan in the afternoon and dissipated in the Pacific Ocean.
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