Update July 1 2008: 23 days in custody without charge for Greenpeace Japan activists

Greenpeace supporters gathered outside the Japanese Embassy in London this lunchtime. They held a peaceful protest to express solidarity with the two anti-whaling campaigners currently being held without trial in Japan for their role in exposing a large scale embezzlement scandal within the Japanese government-sponsored Southern Ocean whaling program.

Among the ranks was Greenpeace UK Director John Sauven, who handed in a letter to Ambassador Shin Ebihara asking him to make urgent representation to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for their immediate release, and to order a further investigation into the scandal exposed by Greenpeace.





Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki were arrested ten days ago, after Greenpeace Japan exposed an illicit trade in whale meat from the 'scientific' whaling programme in the Southern Ocean. An intercepted package taken by a crew member of the whaling factory ship the Nisshin Maru contained 23kg of choice cuts of whale meat. The disproportionate response of the Japanese government to the scandal appears to indicate how worried they are by it, and is genuinely surprising given that they and their allies were supposed to be preparing for more constructive engagement on the issue at last week's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Chile.

Today's London embassy visit was just one of many that have taken place around the world over the past few days, an indication of how high feelings are running at the outrageous way Juni and Toru are being treated. From as far a field as Brazil, Indonesia, Sweden and Australia, defenders of whales and democracy around the world haven't been slow to express their outrage at the behaviour of the Japanese government on this issue. In addition to demonstrations in approximately 30 countries since the duo were arrested last week, nearly 180,000 letters of protest have been emailed to the Japanese Prime Minister and Foreign minister demanding their immediate release (thanks once again to everyone from the UK who has taken part).

What you can do

Please, if you haven't done so already, take a couple of minutes to add your voice to the protest against Juno and Toru's unjust incarceration. Free the Tokyo Two!