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Through The Fire | |
 Ryan Masaaki Yokota |
Having just returned from a year abroad in Japan, one of the more interesting aspects that I encountered was just how active everyday citizens in Japan were in fighting for issues of peace and justice. By this I mean that not only were activists that I met there involved in a range of important issues, such as rejecting the U.S.-Japan security treaty, fighting for an end to nuclear weapons, or urging a removal of U.S. military bases in Okinawa, but also that they were involved in long-term commitments around these issues that spanned not just years, but often decades.For example, one of the most interesting groups of people that I met was a group of peace activists in Mitaka, Japan who have been protesting against the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty along with other related issues of peace and justice, such as the War in Iraq and the deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces. This dedicated group of individuals has continued to hold a monthly rally through the streets of Mitaka ever since the 1960s, and have now held over 1,000 rallies in that city! Participation in the rallies has dwindled somewhat since the heady days when the signing of the revised treaty in 1960 could cause the resignation of the Japanese Prime Minister, but the group continues to hold spirited actions to remind people of the continued need for action around these and related issues. |
Another time, while walking through Shinjuku, I was surprised to meet an elderly lady who was involved with a group of bicyclists who were touring Japan to continue to spread the word about the need to oppose nuclear weapons. In talking with her, she stressed the manner in which the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims (hibakusha) with whom her group works with are becoming more elderly and she stressed the need to continue their push to remove nuclear weapons once and for all, considering that the generation of people with direct experience of the bombings are now passing away. I was amazed at her tenacity in riding a bicycle for this issue and was thankful to hear from her such a message and reminder, considering that my own family members had been in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped in 1945. In Henoko, in Okinawa, I was able to meet a group of activists there and was often impressed at the ardent opposition to the construction of a new military base there has continued from the late 1990s until this day. There, a group called the Inochi o Mamoru Kai (Association to Protect Life) has staged a daily sit-in at the site of the proposed base site from 1997 to the present, in order to monitor the waters and protect the land from the building of the new military base. This resistance, they assert, is necessary to protect the natural resources of the area, protect residents from base impacts, and also preserve the surrounding bay, which houses the rare Dugong sea mammal, that lives in the surrounding waters. Having seen the beauty of the area and vibrant life in these waters, I would have to agree with them that the building of the proposed base there would destroy the area and cause irreparable harm to the environment and to local residents. Even further, as shown by the huge recent protests in Ginowan in Okinawa, which numbered over 110,000 people strong, local citizens’ groups continue to play an important role in pushing for recognition of their rights and exercising democratic freedoms. In the largest post-war rally in Okinawa ever, an overwhelming number of local residents have argued that history matters, and that the Japanese military did indeed play a role in forcing civilians to commit suicide in World War II at the end of a bayonet. Japanese government backpedaling on this issue has shown the moral bankruptcy and right-wing revisionism of the administration. All told, despite stereotypes in the U.S. that Japanese are all conformists and corporate shills, these examples among many others have demonstrated to me that the Japanese people continue to grapple with many difficult political issues in the context of a changing global environment. Whether by organizing educational events on college campuses, taking their grievances to the streets, or holding vigil around other crucial issues, Japanese activists continue to push for issues of peace and justice in the face of government opposition. In the U.S., it seems that similar long-term commitments to such issues are in order, considering the neo-conservative thrust to cloak the invasions of Middle Eastern nations under the farce of the perpetual war on terror. Americans dedicated to issues of democracy, peace, and freedom have slowly been waking up to this reality, and perhaps such work could be strengthened by solidifying international ties with other activists across the Pacific, and elsewhere around the world.
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