Tokyo two Pre-trail hearings continue: A proper defence requires all the evidence says Greenpeace

Aomori, Japan, August 4, 2009 – While over three million visitors are hitting the streets of Aomori to see the colourful floats of the Nebuta festival, the Tokyo Two defence counsel is in court wrangling over the disclosure of important evidence.

The ongoing trial against Greenpeace activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki has seen the prosecution work to conceal as much evidence as possible. This strategy appears to be running out of steam, however, as the Aomori court this week directed the prosecutor to disclose all evidence relating to the case to the judges, so they can decide if it is relevant for inclusion in the case.

Greenpeace is confident that when the judges read all of the prosecution's evidence they will not only see that Junichi and Toru are innocent of any crime, but that their actions were in the greater public interest as they sought to expose criminal embezzlement within the taxpayer-funded whaling industry.

"There is a growing international concern about the case of the Tokyo Two," said international human rights lawyer Richard Harvey. "This is not just about whaling, nor human rights in Japan. It is about the rights of all citizens to investigate and expose evidence of public officials suspected of corruption and embezzlement.

"International law requires that Junichi and Toru be allowed to present all documents and relevant evidence in the case so that the court and the public will have a clear understanding of the reasons for their actions," added Harvey.

"We in the international human rights community therefore look to the Aomori Court to ensure that all their rights of defence are respected and to make clear to the world that all they have ever sought to do was to expose public corruption."

Due to the issues surrounding the disclosure of evidence, the court has again extended the pre-trial process with another hearing on November 20.

While the court debates the disclosure of evidence, Greenpeace activists in traditional Japanese Yukata dress have distributed over 6,500 fans calling on the Japanese public to support a fair trial for the Junichi and Toru.

If this is to be a fair trial and the court is determined to uphold the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Japan is a party to, then Greenpeace hopes that it will order the full disclosure of all evidence related to the Tokyo Two case.

Greenpeace is an independent, global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment, and to promote peace.

Greenpeace Appeals Against Japanese Government Censorship

Tokyo - Greenpeace today lodged an appeal against government censorship, calling on the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) to release uncensored copies of whale meat sales documents obtained by Greenpeace through a 2008 Freedom of Information request.

The documents are supposed to detail whale meat sales as well as contracts between the FAJ and the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR). However, what the FAJ released on January 19 this year was so heavily censored almost every line was obscured, rendering the documents worthless.

"These blacked-out documents represent the level of secrecy surrounding the Government-funded whaling programme," said Jun Hoshikawa, Greenpeace Japan Executive Director. "They are symbolic of the FAJ's willingness to breach its own promise of transparency and
accountability."

Co-signed by Shokichi Kina, an Upper House Diet member from the Democratic Party of Japan, Greenpeace's formal appeal comes as Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, known as the Tokyo Two, prepare for the next stage of their court case in Aomori. The two are on trial for exercising their duty as concerned citizens and exposing wrongdoing inside a public organisation.

Despite the current economic crisis - the worst in a century in Japan - the FAJ continues to subsidise the ICR's so-called scientific whaling expeditions to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to the tune of ¥500 million (US$5 million) a year. Taxpayers are footing the bill for this unprofitable enterprise, yet the FAJ has denied the public the right to know how their money is being spent.

"The public has an overriding right to information on misconduct by government officials. By exposing an embezzlement ring inside the Japanese whaling fleet, the Tokyo Two acted within the long-standing traditions of international human rights, and in the best interests of the Japanese public," said international human rights lawyer Richard Harvey.

The uncensored truth is that this taxpayer-funded whaling programme is scientifically bankrupt, ecologically and economically unsustainable, and neither needed or wanted by anyone outside the whaling industry and a handful of bureaucrats.

Greenpeace is an independent, global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment, and to promote peace.