We denounce the arrests and detentions of participants in excessively policed demonstrations.

We denounce the arrests and detentions of participants in excessively policed demonstrations.

July 9, 2008

Network of Lawyers Observing Human Rights Around the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit (WATCH)

The "7-5 Challenge the G8 Summit Peace Walk for 10,000" was held on July 5 in the city of Sapporo, and in sharp contrast with the peaceful demonstration itself, a markedly excessive and aggressive police presence constituted a flagrant violation of human rights. All along the walk's route, plainclothes police security officers recorded and took pictures of demonstrators with cameras, and fully armed riot units stood in formation along both sides of the march to prevent average citizens from being able to view the demonstration.

Furthermore, in addition to pounding on a sound truck's glass window with batons, police dragged the man sitting in the driver's seat out of the vehicle and took him and a total of four individuals (one of whom is a reporter) to jail for interfering with official police duties or violating traffic laws.

The reporter was released on July 8, but on the same day the Prosecutor's unjust request for the other three to be held in detention at the Sapporo Regional Court was approved.

The Constitution safeguards citizens' rights to express opinions to others and others' freedom to access or receive those opinions. Toward that end, demonstration marches serve as inextricable pillars that support our right to assemble in a constitutional democracy and therefore must be cared for and protected, and any restrictions must be limited to the absolute bare minimum. However, the aforementioned excessive policing and unjust arrests ran roughshod over our right to freedom of _expression.

Therefore, we object to the arrests of the four individuals as significant violations of their constitutionally protected freedom of _expression, we strongly denounce the specifics of the arrests themselves, and we object to the decision to detain the remaining three and call for their immediate release.


[the groups approve this statement]
2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum
Hokkaido Peoples’ Forum on G8 Summit
G8 Action Network
Counter-G8 International Forum

We Urgently Denounce the Denial of Visas and Entry to Japan to Members of Civic Organizations and NGOs in Connection with the G8 Summit

We Urgently Denounce the Denial of Visas and Entry to Japan to Members of Civic Organizations and NGOs in Connection with the G8 Summit, and We Strongly Insist Again that Nothing Interfere with Opportunities for Members of Civic Movements to Exercise Freedom of Speech, Expression, and Assembly.

July 4, 2008

Network of Lawyers Observing Human Rights Around the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit (WATCH)

In response to the Hokkaido Toyako (G8) Summit, which is being held from July 7th through the 9th, many civic organizations and NGOs have planned seminars and international colloquia on problems related to the environment, peace, human rights, poverty, and development. However, over the past two days there have been reports of case after case of individuals connected to these civic organizations and NGOs who were scheduled to attend these events, but were refused visas to travel to Japan on site at embassies or denied entry to Japan at airports.

To the extent that we are able to stay on top of these developments, we have learned that over the past two days members of Bangladeshi NGOs were denied visas at the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka without any explanation regarding the reason.

Meanwhile yesterday at the Chitose International Airport, all nineteen members of a farmers' organization from Korea were denied entry on the grounds that they had no proof documenting their plans for their stay in Japan.

In addition to such developments, an individual with an international NGO based in the Philippines gave up on coming to Japan after delays in the visa issuance process, and it concerns us that similar visa delays and denials will continue with similar effects.

These members of civic organizations and NGOs received official invitations from civic organizations and NGOs in Japan, and many were scheduled to speak at seminars. Challenges and difficulties such as restrictions on visas without any particular reason or explanation provided on the grounds that the G8 Summit is convening or the draconian demand to produce proof documenting one's plans in order to be granted entry can only be understood as attempts to deprive citizens the opportunity to freely exchange and express opinions on the most pressing issues facing our world. Not only does this affect civic organizations and NGOs, but it also gives international society reason to lose trust in Japan.

We were in the midst of protesting the recently enhanced immigration restrictions imposed on scholars and reporters around the G8 Summit and now also call on the Japanese government immediately to halt the denials and delays of visas and entry to Japan to members of civic organizations and NGOs and ensure that nothing impedes the rights of citizens to exercise freedom of speech, expression, and assembly.

[the groups approve this statement]
2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum
Hokkaido Peoples’ Forum on G8 Summit
G8 Action Network

Questions and Answers: Legal information for temporary visitors to Japan 1

Questions and Answers: Legal information for temporary visitors to Japan 1


1. General information for everyday life


Q1 Do I have to carry my passport with me at all times?

Answer:
Yes. During your stay in Japan, you must carry your passport and show it to police officers, security police officers and drug control officers etc., whenever they ask. If you do not have your passport with you or if you refuse to show it to a police officer, you may be subject to fines or detainment. You have the right to demand to see a police officer's ID, but even if a police official does not comply with your
request, you still are not entitled to refuse the demand to show your passport in return.

However, a police officer can only ask you to show her or him your passport. If she or he starts writing down the information in your passport, you should protest strongly and demand that the officer destroy her or his memo.

Furthermore, if non-Japanese without domicile in Japan want to stay in hotels and other accommodation facilities, they must show their passport to the manager and let her or him photocopy it.

Besides, it is a crime to enter false name, address, profession or other information into a hotel register when checking in. Please be careful because even such a minor crime will give the police an opportunity to arrest you or to carry out other repressions.


Q2: Is the drug control strict in Japan?

Answer:
Yes! Japan pursues a zero-tolerance policy regarding drug consumption (Slogan: „No. Absolutely") and controls drug crimes very strictly. For instance, the possession, handing over or receiving of cannabis is punishable with up to 5 years imprisonment, and the importation of cannabis to Japan is punishable with up to 7 years imprisonment. In Europe and the US, criminal prosecution against the possession and consumption of small amounts of "soft" drugs maybe very mild, but not in Japan. Please do not expect the Japanese authorities to be generous with you, just because you come from a country which has good diplomatic relationships with Japan.

Furthermore, drinking and smoking is prohibited for people under 20 years.


2. Police conduct


Q3: In what circumstances would I be questioned by the police?

Answer:
If a police officer believes someone is behaving strangely or if the police officer has reason to suspect an individual of having committed or of trying to commit any crime, or if a police officer has reason to believe someone has knowledge regarding crimes which have been committed or which are going to be committed, the officer has the right to stop and question the individual. This is called "police questioning," or shokumu-shitsumon in Japanese. (Police Code of Conduct, Article 2, Paragraph 1)

As staying illegally in Japan is a crime, there is always the possibility that non-Japanese people could be subjected to police questioning simply for being "foreigners." Because police questioning can be carried out in public spaces, such as railway stations, you should be careful.

The police officer is allowed to ask you to follow him to a nearby police station if it is disadvantageous for you to be questioned at the place where you are being stopped, or if the questioning disturbs the traffic. (Police Code of Conduct, Article 2, Paragraph 2)


Q4: Do I have the right to refuse to be questioned or to be taken to the police station?

Answer:
The police can question or take people to the police station only on a voluntary basis. They cannot force people to answer questions or to go to the police station. (Police Code of Conduct, Article 2, Paragraph 3)

Therefore, you can refuse to answer questions or be taken to a station. However, the police question Non-Japanese often in order to know whether they are staying illegally in Japan. So, they are often satisfied when you show your passport and the resident status (which is marked in your passport and determines the purpose of your stay), something you must do anyway (see Q1). So it may not be really useful to refuse to give answers to the police questioning categorically.

If you refuse the questioning, a police officer may call other police officers via transistor and ask them for support. Then, it is possible that several police officers will arrive, surround you and not let you go until you answer the questions.


Q5: If I refuse the questioning and try to walk away, is it possible that the police officers will use physical force to make me stay, such as grabbing my shoulders?

Answer:
Police questioning happens only on voluntary basis, but according to the Japanese Supreme Court, in some cases, it is legal that the police use physical force to prevent you from walking away, if the questioning is immediately necessary and appropriate in the respective case. For instance, the Supreme Court decided in one case that holding the wrists of a person was legal to convince that person to answer to the question. (Supreme Court, Third Circuit Ruling of March 16, 1976)

If you use physical force against the police officer or threaten her or him to stop using physical force against you, you can be arrested immediately for obstructing official duties.

It happens also sometimes, that the police officer falls on the ground intentionally during the questioning and that she or he arrests the questioned person immediately for using "violence" and obstructing official duties.

Please be aware that you can be arrested for obstructing official duties, if you touch or body check the police officer.


Q6: Does a police officer have the right to search my bag during questioning?

Answer:
There is no express provision in the law, but there are certain situations addressed by a Japanese Supreme Court decision. (Supreme Court, Third Circuit Ruling of June 20, 1978)

According to the Supreme Court, the police have the right to search bags in connection with questioning if it is appropriate with regard to the legal interests of the person being searched on the one hand and the public interests on the other.

Therefore, in cases of minor crimes, it is not lawful for police to search your bags, so you should refuse any search verbally and clearly. If you do not refuse explicitly, the police officer can interpret your behavior as tacit consent, so it is necessary to refuse the bag search explicitly.


Q7: Do I have to let the police search my bag, when I want to go into a building in order to attend an assembly, and when the police have set up a checkpoint at the entrance?

Answer:
Unfortunately, the police carry out such entrance controls. But it is not lawful to search bags of participants of an assembly generally and against their will. Therefore, you should refuse the bag search strongly, but be careful not to touch or body check or use any kind of force against the police officer.


Q8: What shall I do if a police officer asks me to go with him to a police station?

Answer:
Voluntary compliance with such a request is truly voluntary, and a police officer cannot force you to go to a police station. (See also Q2)

Therefore, you can unambiguously and firmly refuse the request.

It is advisable that you quickly consult with an attorney if you do refuse, because police can obtain a court order and try to arrest you.


Q9: What can I do if a police officer keeps following me while I am moving from one place to another?

Answer:
Tailing (following) a person is considered to be a legal manner of investigation with the voluntary consent of the person concerned. Be aware that he is following you in order to learn whom you meet and where you are staying. Legally, it is difficult to make the police officer stop following you, so please be conscious that you can be followed at anytime when moving from one place to another.

Q10: What should I watch out for if the police come to search my house?

Answer:
It is not uncommon for home searches to be carried out around 7 a.m., so please be careful in the morning. Before searching your house, the police officers need to ask a judge for a written permission for house search and seizure of objects. In most of the
cases, the judge issues the permission.

Normally, police search the house of a person suspected of a crime after she or he has been arrested. But it is also possible for the police to search a home in order to collect information about organizations, movements, and relationships among activists on the grounds of investigating a suspected crime committed by "unknown persons" as a form of preliminary repression.

When the police officers arrive, they first have to show you the written permission issued by a judge for house search and seizure of objects. In this permission, items are listed such as the name of the suspect, the charge, the place to be searched and the objects to be seized. Please ask the police to translate and to explain to you properly what is written in the permission. In order to be able to file complaints against the police afterwards, it is recommended to write down or read aloud and record the information given in the permission.

After the house search, you have the right to receive a list of seized objects from the responsible police officer. If no object has been seized, ask for the certificate of house search.


Q11: Do the police have the right to search my body during the house search?

Answer:
The police have no right to search your body if they only have a permission for house search and seizure. But with a written permission of a judge for personal searches, the police can search people who are named in the permission or who are at the place being searched. Women are searched physically by female police officers.

The police officer usually looks inside your bag or inside your pockets, makes you take off your jacket or your shoes, or touches your trousers, but there were also cases where people had to take off everything except their underwear.

Q 12 What should I do if my belongings have been seized in the course of a house search?

Answer:
You can file a complaint regarding illegal seizures by the police at the District Court at the place where the seizure took place. (Criminal Code, Article 430)

If you file a complaint, and provided that the seized objects have apparently nothing to do with the allegation, the police may return them immediately without a decision by the court.

Questions and Answers: Legal information for temporary visitors to Japan 2

3. Questions and Answers when going to a demonstration


Q13: What do I have to consider when going to a demonstration?

Answer:
The police observe demonstrations and await every opportunity to arrest protesters. So it is important for you to consider the following points.

Wear comfortable and firm-fitting shoes and clothing that doesn't expose much of your skin. There will be security police officers photographing the protesters (lately they use digital cameras), so if you do not want to be photographed, wear sunglasses, masks and hats. Take only as few things as necessary to the demo, such as a handkerchief, tissues and cash. Everything you carry will be taken away by the police during your detention if you are arrested. However, make sure to carry your passport in case a police officer questions you.

Try not to be alone at the demo. Make sure you are with at least a few other people.


Q14: What am I prohibited to take to the demo? Can I wear protective gear? Can I carry flag poles?

Answer:
Prohibited objects are listed in the written permission of the demo. Please ask the organisers of the demo beforehand. It is not prohibited to cover your face or wear protective gear. However, dangerous objects are generally prohibited. Flag poles are usually not prohibited, but depending on how you use it, it can be considered a dangerous object.

Q15: Am I allowed to organise or participate at unpermitted or spontaneous demos?

Answer:
No. In order to organise a demo in Japan, you have to apply for a permit at least 72 hours before the demo. Unpermitted demos and assemblies are subject to police intervention.


Q16: What kind of different types of police observe the demo? How do I recognize them? Do they have different rights?

Answer:
There are 2 different types of police officers, the riot police and other police officers. They have the same rights, but the riot police are heavily equipped. There are also plainclothes officers of the Public Security Intelligence Agency („secret police“) who walk on the pavement and collect information and photograph/film the protesters. They do not have the right to interfere directly in the demo.


Q17: What rights do I have if photographed or filmed by the police or the media? Can I photograph or film the police officers?

Answer:
According to the Supreme Court, everybody has the freedom not to be filmed or photographed without permission. However, there is an important exception to the above right, if
- a crime is apparently being committed or apparently has been committed,
- and the conservation of evidence is immediately necessary,
- and the filming or photographing does not exceed the generally
permissible scope.

In such cases, the police can photograph or film a person without her or his consent and without the written permission of the judge. (Supreme Court, Superior Ruling of December 24, 1969)

For instance, if someone acts against the conditions of the permission of the demonstration, the police might take pictures of her or him in the act of violating the so-called Public Safety Ordinance which rules the legal conditions of a demonstration.
Irrespective of the opinion of the Supreme Court, the security police photograph and film people just for walking on the public street.

If police officers photograph/film you with disregard for the above conditions imposed by the Supreme Court, you can protest their actions. In severe cases, you can file a suit for compensation.

If you are filmed by the media, you can protest. However, taking part at a demo and exposing oneself to the public can be interpreted as a tacit consent to being photographed and filmed.

There are court decisions that police officers and other government employees on duty do not have "portrait rights" (the right that people may assert not to have their picture taken, published, or otherwise disseminated) while on duty.


Q18: What are the conditions of an arrest?

Answer:
There are two different situations at a demo where an arrest can take place:

1. In flagrant delict, which means if the police officer recognizes that someone is in fact committing a crime or someone has in fact just finished committing a crime.

2. In quasi-flagrant delict, which means if the police officer recognizes clearly that a crime has just been finished,
AND
a) people call after a person that she or he is the offender of the crime, OR
b) a person possesses a stolen or any other illegally obtained object, or a
weapon or any other object which was apparently used for the crime, OR
c) if there are traces of evidence at the body or at the clothes of a person
that she or he has committed a crime, OR
d) if someone runs away after being questioned by a police officer.

If you feel unjustly arrested, say to the police officer that there is no reason to arrest you, and protest the arrest. Also, try to appeal to the passers-by and ask them to help you.
If you get arrested, tell the people your name and ask them to organise
support.


Q19: What are the common charges when arrested on demos?

Answer:
Common charges are: obstructing official duties, trespassing, violation of Road Traffic Act, obstructing business by force, but any other minor crime can provide justification for an arrest. Police also invent crimes from time to time.


Q20: What happens if I am arrested?

Answer:
Once you are arrested, you are handcuffed and taken to the nearby police station.
At the police station, the police make a "deposition of pleading" which is a written statement of what you say about the accusations.
The procedure is as follows:
1. They tell you what facts you are accused of.
2. They ask you whether you admit these facts.
3. Then they make a document about what you say.
4. And ask you to sign and to place your seal (sign) on the document.

At this point, the police tell you that you have the right to appoint a lawyer. You have no right to a phone call, so that you cannot call for a lawyer by yourself. But you can ask the police officer to call for a lawyer. There are two different possibilities to choose a lawyer:

You can ask for a duty lawyer, in Japanese tôban bengoshi. A duty lawyer is organised by the the local bar association which is an organisation of local lawyers. The local bar association holds a list of local lawyers who serve as a duty lawyer . Of all these listed lawyers, the one who is on duty on the day of your request will come to meet you. The first consultation by the duty lawyer is for free.
You can imagine the duty lawyer as an emergency doctor who gives you a first-aid treatment. The duty lawyer interviews the arrested person in the absence of police officers and listens to what the arrestee says, gives her or him explanation
about her or his rights and the legal procedure and she or he arranges communication between the arrestee and the outside world. If you have invitation groups or other groups who are in charge of taking care of you, ask the duty lawyer to contact them on your behalf.

After the first meeting with the duty lawyer, if you wish to continue to have a legal support by that lawyer during the investigation, you have to appoint the duty lawyer as a private defense lawyer and, basically, pay money. However, it is possible to make use of financial aid. See Q10 for details.

Instead of the duty lawyer, you can also appoint a lawyer who is chosen by the Kyûen Renraku Center („Support Contact Center“, tel. 03-3591-1301), an organisation which specializes in organising support for arrested activists. See Q9 for the difference between the duty lawyer and the lawyer chosen by the Kyûen Renraku Center.

If you want to ask for a duty lawyer, just say to the police officer that you want him to call for a duty lawyer. Then the police will contact the nearby bar association which will send a duty lawyer and an interpreter to you on the same day or on the next at the latest.
If you want to appoint a lawyer chosen by the Kyûen Renraku Center, just say so to the police officer. In this case, the police will contact the Kyûen Renraku Center.
Besides, not only the arrested person, but also her or his friends and supporters can make a direct phone call in order to ask for a lawyer.
Contact list:
Sapporo Bar Association 011-272-1010
Kyûen Renraku Center 03-3591-1301
WATCH 080-3410-2780 (for questions)

Before you enter the cell, your body and personal belongings will be searched, and everything you have (including your watch and belt) will be taken away until you are freed. Mobile phones can be seized as evidence, which means the police can keep them for a while even after your release. If the police try to take away your glasses, you should say that you need them and protest clearly.

You also get photographed and fingerprinted, which you cannot refuse.


Q21: What is the difference between the duty lawyer and the lawyer chosen by the Kyûen Renraku Center? Who schould I ask for?

Answer:
The lawyer chosen by the Kyûen Renraku Center is experienced in advocating for activists who are arrested for political activism, whereas there is no guarantee that the duty lawyer has experiences and understanding in that area.
However, lawyers who work with the Kyûen Renraku Center are mostly located in Tokyo, so in Hokkaido, the support by the Kyûen Renraku Center may be limited. Also, for people who do not speak Japanese, it might be also difficult for the Kyûen Renraku Center to organise an interpreter. So, if an international activist is arrested in Hokkaido, it might be better for her or him to ask for a duty lawyer, because the local bar association is more likely to be able to send you an interpreter along with the duty lawyer.


Q22: Can I make use of financial aid to pay the lawyer’s fee?

Answer:
In general, if someone is arrested at a demo, the organiser of the demo will organise a support group for her or him. This support group will collect donations to help you pay your lawyer.
Apart from that, each local bar association offers financial aid. For details, please ask the duty lawyer or any other lawyer you choose.


Q23: Can I contact the consular representative of my country after my arrest?

Answer:
Non-Japanese have the right to contact the consular representative of her or his country if detained. For practical purposes, the police station has a form to ask the arrestee whether she or he wants to contact the consul. The consular representative can help you contact your family in your country, to organise documents from your country, find an interpreter, etc.


Q24: Do I have the right to remain silent? In which aspects can I remain silent?

Answer:
You have the right to remain completely silent if you want, but the Supreme Court does not recognize a right to remain silent concerning your name. (Supreme Court, Superior Ruling of February 20, 1957)
However, if you are not a Japanese citizen and the police take away your passport, they will know your name, date of birth, nationality, etc. anyhow, so there may be no meaning in you remaining silent about these topics. Apart from that, you do not have to tell to the police where you are staying at in Japan.

During the questioning, do not confess to anything that you did not do. Once a confession is made, it will be used as an evidence against you, and it is extremely difficult to discredit the confession later in court. It is therefore very dangerous to think that you can lie during the questioning but tell the truth at the trial.


Q25: Will there be an interpreter when the police officer questions me?

Answer:
If
- there is no interpreter to translate the interrogation into your first
language, OR
- the interpreter is not good enough, OR
- you have doubts about the ability or the fairness of an interpreter,

you may refuse to cooperate with the questioning and ask for a reliable interpreter or a lawyer.


Q26: How does the criminal procedure go on after the arrest?

Answer:
You are handed over to the Public Prosecutor's Office within 48 hours after the arrest, then, within another 24 hours, the public prosecutor has to decide whether to submit a request to the judge to detain you. If the judge approves the request, you can be kept in detention for basically 10 days, but the detention may be extended for another 10 days.

In some cases, you can be released earlier than after 23 days, but please do not believe that you will not be kept for such a long time just because you are a Non-Japanese.

Within 20 days after the approval of the detention by the judge, you must be released unless the prosecutor indicts you.

If you are indicted, your detention continues until the end of the trial, unless you request to be released on bail and pay the bail upon the approval of your request.

The first court session will be held about one and a half months after the indictment. If the procedure terminates in one session, the decision of the court will pronounce the judgment in the second court session within another 2 weeks.


Q27: Where will the arrestee be detained?

Answer:
The arrestees are kept in a police cell even after the judge's decision of detention, a practice which is called the "substitute prison" and criticised internationally.
During the detention, you will be under total control of the police and may be subject to long-hour questionings which can continue after 9 p.m. when the sleeping hours start.


Q28: Who am I allowed to meet after I am arrested?

Answer:
In most of the cases, the judge decides to forbid you to have any contact with anyone other than the lawyer and to receive anything from outside the detention facilities. In this case, you have to ask the lawyer to visit you frequently so that you can have contact with the people outside.


Q29: What can I do if I want to appeal my detention?

Answer:
You can file complaints against the judge's decision to detain you and to extend your detention. However, there is little chance for you to be released.

But it is possible that the complaints might help reduce the duration of the detention.

You can request that the judge who decided to detain you explain the reasons of the detention in a public court session only once during your detention. Everyone can attend this session and sometimes the media come to cover the session. In this proceeding, the detainee and his or her lawyer have the opportunity to give statements and denounce the unjust detention.


Q30: Are there any criminal procedures other than court trials?

Answer:
If the criminal procedure concerns a fine under 100 million yen, the judge can fix a fine just after the examination of the documents. This summary procedure is only possible if you have confessed to the crime. If you pay the fine, you will be released.


Q31: Will I be deported if I am arrested? When will it happen?

Answer:
If a Non-Japanese is arrested in a criminal case, the criminal procedure has priority towards the deportation or other procedures covered under the Immigration Law. Even if you want to go back to your country, it is not possible until the criminal case has been terminated.

If you are indicted and sentenced to prison without suspension, basically, you have to stay in a Japanese prison.

If you are arrested, you do not lose your resident status automatically. But it can happen that you have to stay longer in Japan than you were initially approved by the immigration authorities due to the criminal case. In such cases, upon the termination of the criminal case, you will be immediately put into a special facility and subject to deportation, even if you are not indicted, or exonerated, or given a suspended sentence or even if the execution of the sentence is terminated. Once a deportation procedure has commenced, the concerned person will actually be deported. In very rare
cases, the Minister of Justice can grant a special permission to stay.

In Protest Over the Immigration Restrictions

In Protest Over the Japanese Ministry of Justice and Immigration Service's Unjust Restrictions on Members of Scholarly and Media Communities Attempting to Enter Japan and to Protect Freedom of Speech and Expression

Network of Lawyers Observing Human Rights Around the G8 Hokkaido Toyako
Summit (WATCH)

June 30, 2008

Eleven well-known international scholars scheduled to be panelists at the Counter-G8 International Forum being held in Tokyo from June 30 until July 1 have been detained at the airport and subjected to long hours of questioning. Several of these scholars were refused entry because their plans for the days between meetings were not clear. Later they were given special permission for entry with their planned time limit significantly shortened.

Meanwhile, many international journalists and media workers coming to Japan to cover events related to the G8 Summit continue to be held and questioned in a similar manner and for no particular reason at various airports.

These measures constitute the unjust immigration detention of scholars and media workers. This is not only an infringement on the expression of various opinions, feelings, and perspectives on the G8, it also has a profoundly chilling effect on investigative research and reporting.

Our network urges the Ministry of Justice and Immigration Services Bureaus of Administration to halt these unjust immigration screenings immediately and resume the usual screening practices in order to protect freedom of expression and intellectual freedom during the G8 Summit.

We strongly protest against the detention of the two activists of Greenpeace

June, 28th 2008

Lawyers' Network for Human Rights Observation around the G8 Summit (WATCH)

On April 20, 2008, Aomori Prefectural Police and Tokyo Metropolitan Police Public Security Division arrested two Greenpeace Japan activists for theft and trespassing. The activists are accused first of stealing a cardboard box that contained the meat of a whale harvested by a Japanese scientific whaling ship, and which had been stored in a delivery company in Aomori; and secondly they are accused of handing over the stolen whale meat to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office. The police also searched Greenpeace offices as part of their investigation.

According to the arrested activists, their act was not a mere act of theft or trespassing, rather it was intended as a denouncement of the embezzlement of whale meat by the crew of a scientific whaling ship financed with tax payers' money. Furthermore, the activists had already submitted a report in which they disclosed the details of their plan. Also they had declared that they were willing to appear at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office anytime. There was therefore no reason to suspect that they would conceal evidence or that they would flee; this removes the justifications for the detention of the two activists.

Despite this lack of legal premises for detention, the Aomori Prefectural Police and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Public Security Division are still detaining the activists, an act which is unjust, illegal and illegitimate.

This spectacle on the eve of the G8 Summit has provoked expressions of concern in different parts of the society. Both mass media and activists are concerned that the police intend to intimidate the whole civil movement. The evening paper of Niigata Nippo as of June 20th says: "It is disturbing that there could be a link between the arrests and the G8 Summit. The police behavior can be interpreted as a warning against radical civil organisations which do not refrain from illegal acts to achieve their aims. If this assumption is true, it is very alarming (...) The implementation of law should be strict, but with no political intentions."

It is clear that the police intend to intimidate the civil movement before the G8 Summit by carrying out disproportionate control, even if it means risking international protests on the eve of the Summit. The fact that the Public Security Police lead the investigation underlines this stance.

The arrest of the two activists is not only a human rights violation with regard to the unjustifiable arrest, detention and investigation, but also a challenge against the freedom of expression. Police repression against the activists' denunciation obstructs the legitimate activities of both Japanese civil society and international society and is therefore internationally unacceptable and subject to global criticism as an affront to humanity.

The Lawyers' Network for Human Rights Monitoring around the G8 Summit is concerned that this incident will obstruct the use of freedom of speech, the protest activities and the denunciation activities concerning crimes against public interest. It thereby strongly demands that free activities and free spaces granted in the Japanese Constitution de jure be guaranteed de facto.

Activities of WATCH in case of arrests and other police repressions

WATCH is a network of lawyers established to monitor human rights infringements by police authorities before and during the G8 Summit in 2008. Watch exists parallel to other legal teams organised by activists.
WATCH has nothing to do with these other legal teams managerially, but WATCH is in contact and exchanges information with them.

The prime objective of WATCH is to prevent human rights infringements. In order to achieve this object, WATCH has published basic legal information about the criminal procedure in Japan and other topics necessary for activists to protect themselves against illegal repression.
Furthermore, WATCH will attend the demonstration in Sapporo on July 5th and observe police behaviour, with the support of media activists record cases of police repression, and publish these cases for the scrutiny of international society.

As a basic principle, WATCH does not directly support people who have been arrested. Also, WATCH does not collect comprehensive information about all the arrestees and organise support for these people. If an activist from abroad gets arrested, it is the task of the inviting group to organise support for him/her. If there is no inviting group, WATCH will do the best to give support, but please be forewarned that, due to lack of personnel, WATCH is not able to offer support in every case.

If you get arrested, please ask for the so-called duty lawyer, in Japanese tôban bengoshi. The duty lawyer is a lawyer provided by the local bar association, and the first time she or he provides you with legal counsel it is free of charge. You can imagine the duty lawyer as an emergency doctor who gives you a first-aid treatment. You can call her or him just by saying to the police at the police station that you want to see a duty lawyer.
Then the police will contact the local bar association which will send a duty lawyer to you. Also, your friends and supporters can call the local bar association to order a duty lawyer for you. The telephone numbers are listed at the end of this text.
The duty lawyer interviews the arrested person in the absence of police officers and listens to what the arrestee says, gives him/her explanation about his/her rights and the legal procedure and he/she arranges communication between the arrestee and the outside world. If you have invitation groups or other groups who are in charge of taking care of you, ask the duty lawyer to contact them on your behalf.

If you wish to have a legal support by a lawyer after your first interview with the duty lawyer, you have to appoint the duty lawyer or any other lawyer as a private defense lawyer and pay money. However, in certain cases you can make use of financial aid. For details, please ask the duty lawyer.

Duty lawyers are organised by the local bar associations. WATCH is not linked with the duty lawyers. But some members of WATCH may also serve as duty lawyers or as private defense lawyers.

Apart from WATCH, there is a private organisation called Kyûen Renraku Center ("Support Contact Center", tel. 03-3591-1301) which specializes in organising support for arrested activists. If an activist from abroad gets arrested, he/she can also demand at the police station for the police to contact the Kyûen Renraku Center. Kyûen Renraku Center is in fact a specialist in support activities. However, the support by the Kyûen Renraku Center may be limited in Hokkaido owing to geographical reasons. Also, from a linguistic point of view, it might be better for the international activists to ask for a duty lawyer, because the local bar association is more likely to be able to send you an interpreter along with the duty lawyer.

Phone numbers for duty lawyers:

Sapporo 011-272-1010
Tokyo 03-3580-0082
Osaka 06-6363-0080

These phone numbers are meant for the friends and helpers who want to ask for a duty lawyer for the arrestee. The arrestee him-/herself can just say "Please call a duty lawyer" to the police officer at the police station. It might be helpful to write "tôban bengoshi" on your arm before going to a demonstration.

Immigration Hotline

WATCH offers an emergency hotline to help those who are having troubles to enter Japan with regard to the G8 Summit or highly possible to face such troubles, and those who are inviting such people to Japan.

The following telephone number should be valid till the end of July.

(+81) +80 3410 2780

If you pass this number to third parties, please make sure to circulate
the text above at the same time.

Basic information about the criminal procedure in Japan

Dear visitors to Japan!

This brochure will give you the minimum knowledge you should have about the criminal procedure in Japan when visiting.

1. Risks when being arrested

Once arrested by the police in Japan, and provided that the prosecutor requests to extend your detention within 72 hours of your arrest and that the judge allows this request, you can be detained initially for 10 days, with the high possibility that your detention will be extended for another 10 days, for a maximum total of 23 days in detention. So, you have to be aware that you may be kept in detention for a little over three weeks once you are arrested.
Furthermore, in Japan, it is very common that detainees are kept in a police cell even after the judge’s decision to detain you, a practice which is quite uncommon in the rest of the world. This system, called the "substitute prison", is internationally criticised and was subject to an examination in the process of the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June of this year. Through the "substitute prison", the police are able to exercise total control over you 24 hours a day and they will usually perform interrogations from morning until night, occasionally ignoring sleeping hours (which start at 9 p.m.).
In addition, during a possible 23 days of detention, you may be denied contact with everyone besides your lawyer. ("prohibition of contact")
In Japan, you have no right to a phone call. If you have a moblie phone, it will be confiscated during your detention.

2. What to do if you are arrested

Once you are arrested, you will be brought to a police station, where a personal search and a search of your personal belongings will be carried out before you are put into a cell. The police will take away your jewelry, ties and belts etc. during your detention.
If you are arrested, ask the police immediately to call the duty lawyer ("tôban bengoshi"). The local bar association will send you a lawyer with an interpretor on the same day or on the next day at the latest. The first consultation by the duty lawyer is for free. If you meet the lawyer, ask him to contact people you know and who belong to activist groups in Japan.
If you decide to appoint a lawyer for criminal procedures following your arrest, in certain cases, you can make use of the legal aid service in Japan, so that you do not have to pay the costs for appointing a lawyer on your own. For more information about the legal fees, please ask the duty lawyer who will come to the first visit.

Contact list of the duty lawyers:
Sapporo 011-272-1010
Tokyo 03-3580-0082
Osaka 06-6363-0080

Protestation against the tightening of immigration restrictions in relation to the G8 Summit

June 11, 2008
WATCH (Lawyers’ Network for Human Rights Observation around the G8 Summit)

For the forthcoming G8 Summit at Lake Toya in Hokkaido from July 7 to 9, many NGOs and citizen groups are preparing and organizing events relating to human rights, peace, environment and other subjects. Many NGO activists and other civil movement activists from abroad are planning to come to Japan to take part at various G8-related projects.

However, there are reports that the Japanese authorities are handling immigration control very rigidly with regard to the Summit, in several cases even preventing international activists from entering Japan.

In particular, foreign activists who have been convicted of a political crime are required to prove that their crime was political, and provide evidence that they are allowed to enter Japan despite their criminal record, which is according to the political crime exception from the ground for denial of landing as ruled in Section 5 Paragraph 1 Number 4 Phrase 2 Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act ("Immigration Control Act"). Thus, as a condition for recognizing someone as a political criminal, the authorities demand from her/him to submit documents which are extraordinary difficult, if not impossible to produce within an ordinary visa issuance procedure. What's more, of people with a political crime record many are often internationally renowned activists, therefore applying formal and rigid criteria to what counts as evidence of political crimes may damage the credibility of Japanese society.
Recently, a former activist of the African National Congress, Mr. Trevor Ngwane, who was planning to take part at meetings and events related to TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) from May 28 to 30, was de facto denied entrance to Japan. In fact, Mr. Ngwane has been arrested once in the past, but he was exonerated, so that he currently does not fall under any of the grounds for denial of entry into Japan at all. Nevertheless, on the eve of leaving for Japan, the Foreign Ministry demanded that he produce a certificate issued by the South African Police to the effect that he had never committed any crime. Even though Mr. Ngwane then submitted an affidavit that he had never been punished before, which he obtained from police, the Foreign Ministry denied to issue him a visa under the pretext of obtaining verification, so that Mr. Ngwane could not embark upon his airplane as planned and had to abandon his visit to Japan.

Besides Mr. Ngwane's case, a member of a Korean civil group was denied entry to Japan, sent back to Korea and was allowed to enter only upon her second attempt; also a German NGO activist was rejected at the Otaru Harbour in March. Furthermore, the famous Italian philosopher and political thinker, Antonio Negri, was asked to produce the same documents as in Mr. Ngwane’s case, resulting in the cancellation of his visit. We still feel keenly the astonishment throughout the world about the Japanese government's lack of understanding. We hear that many visa applications are still being examined by the consulary division of the Foreign Ministry.

Associating legitimate civil activities around the G8 Summit with "terrorism" without any justification, and restricting the immigration control systematically is irresponsible behaviour towards international society. International law obligates a state to provide full protection for freedom of expression, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for civil movements. This obligation applies self-evidently when executing security measures and controls.

We demand that the Japanese authorities respect the rights of political criminals granted in Section 5 Paragraph 1 Number 4 Phrase 2 Immigration Control Act and that the Japanese government does everything in its power to stop hindering foreign NGO activists from coming to Japan.

Immigration Q&A (Esperanto)

WATCH / Watch Human Rights on Summit
Obserbo al Homaraj Rajtoj che la Pinta Konferenco

Demando-1 Kia proceso necesas por eniri Japanion kaj restadi je la Pinta
Konferenco ?
Respondo-1 Principe necesas akiro de vizo kaj enira permeso che la pasporta
kontrolejo. La vizo estas tiu, kiu ¡Èrekomendas¡É la taugecon de
eniro-restado en Japanio de tiu alilandano.
Atentu, ke sen la sukceso de eniro-kontrolo oni ne povas enjapaniighi ech
kun vizo.
La enir-promeson la oficejo donas post la enlandigha kontrolo fare de
translima oficisto che la pasporta kontrolejo kun la konfirmo, ke vi estas
konvena al kondichoj eniraj.

Por restado kun iom da aktiveco post la enlandigho necesas ¡Èrestada
kondicho¡É. Che enlandigha promeso la translima oficisto decidas la restadan
kondichon kaj la longon kondiche de ties celo de la eniro-restado.
Alilandanoj povas aktivi enkadre de la restada kondicho kaj povas aktivi je
ordinara socia vivo. Konsidereble ke la kazo de enjapaniigho pri la Pinta
Konferenco kongruus kun ¡Èmallonga restado¡É ordinare.

D-2 Chu vizo estas necesa ? Kiu lando ne bezonas la vizon ?
R-2 Principe necesas vizo. Antau la aliro al Japanio oni devas akiri vizon
che la ambasadorejo au konsulejo de Japanio eksterjapanie.
Tamen je ¡Èmallonga restado¡É la vizo estas nedevigebla al oni el pli ol 60
landoj, kies liston vi povas vidi en
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/02.html#a
Por ¡Èmallonga restado¡É tiu, kiu havas la pasporton de tiuj landoj, povas
ne porti vizon.

D-3 Kia estas la proceso de la enlandigho ? Kion la oficisto demandas che
la enira kontrolo ?
R-3 Che la pasporta kontrolejo vi montros al la translima oficisto sian
pasporton, vizon kaj el/enlandan registran karton.
La oficisto kontrolos la validecon de viaj pasporo kaj vizo, kaj kontrolos
ilian taugecon al eniraj kondichoj. Se la oficisto determinos la taugecon
al eniraj kondichoj, tiu prenos viajn fingromarkojn kaj fotojn (Se rifuzi,
ne povas eniri), stampos la enirpermesan signon sur vian pasporton. Tiel vi
ricevis restadan kondichon.

La eniraj kondichoj estas tiaj :
A) La pasporto kaj la vizo (se necesas) estu validaj.
B) Diro pri la farota aktivo estu vera.
C) La longo de restado kongruu kun la regulo de ordeno de la Legha
Ministrejo. (90, 30 au 15 tagoj okaze de ¡Èmallonga restado¡É)
D) Kun La eniron malpermesanta kondicho ne kongruu.
Kio estas la eniron malpermesanta kondicho ? Ekzemple :
l Escepte de politika krimo, punita persono (vidu R-6)
l Tiu, kiu, rilate al internacia konkurso au internacia konferenco, en kiu
partoprenas regnestroj au ministraj ranguloj el chiu lando, estas punita,
au forpelita el Japanio au el alilando (inkluzive de la kazoj, kaj ke tiu
mempiede ellasis la landon akceptinte ordonon de ellaso, kaj ke ties
enlandigho estis malakcepita), malobeinte japanian au alilandan leghon
konsekvence de sia mortigo, vundado, violento, minaco au/kaj rompo al
konstruajho au ajho, farontus mortigon, vundadon, violenton, mimacon au/kaj
rompon al konstruajho au ajho en la okazejo de tiu internacia konkurso ktp,
au en la teritorio de la munincipo, en kiu situas la okazejo, au en
chirkaua loko por iu ajn au por amaso, rilate al la proceso/rezulto de
internacia konkurso/konferenco, au celante malhelpi ties glatan sinsekvon.
l Tiu, kiu havas sufican motivon agnoskitan che la Ministro pri Leghoj, ke
tiu povontus fari la agon kiu difektus profiton au publikan ordon de
Japanio.

Supozeble la translima oficisto demandos vin pri i.a. via celo eniri kaj la
longon de restado multe. Krome se trovighos dubo pri aliaj kondichoj, tiu
demandos pri ili.

La Ministrejo pri Leghoj komunikante kun la Polica Administrejo kaj la la
Ministrejo pri Fremdaj Aferoj, kolektas informojn el eksteraj landoj. Povas
esti, ke jam ampleksas la informoj de oficiale krime traktitaj homoj rilate
al la okazintaj internaciaj konferencoj ekz. Pintaj Konferencoj, APEC, WTO.
Tre povas esti, ke se vi spertis oficialan punon, la eniron malpermesanta
kondicho trafus vin lau la funkcio de la translima ofico.

D-4 Kiel pruvi sian taugecon al la enira kondicho ?
R-4 Pripenseble, ke de antaue vi preparu chi-tiujn dokumentojn por
laubezona montro al la translima oficisto.
1. Eljapaniigha bileto au anstataua garantipapero de vetura firmao (ekz.
Revena bileto de aviadilo au shipo)
2. Pasporto povanta eniri landojn krom Japanion
3. Dokumento, kiu atestas elspezan kapablon por sia restado (preferindas ekz
konfirmilo pri enspezo emisiita de publika organizo, konfirmilo pri
monshpara resto (ne kopio). Eble bezonota kosto malsamus lau la aktivo kaj
restodauro en Japanio.)
4. Ceteraj scihelpaj dokumentoj (ekz. invita letero, dokumentoj de alighonta
kunsido au alispecaj kunvenoj, planskemo de restado ktp t.e. dokumentoj
pruvontaj aktivadon en Japanio, perspektive diferencaj al ties unuopaj
aferoj.)

D-5 Chu necesas fiksi loghlokon ?
R-5 De antaue vi devas fiksi vian loghlokon kaj devos respondi, kiam la
translima oficisto demandos pri tio.

D-6 Se oni havas krimon en sia kariero, chu tiun trafos malakcepto che la
eniro ?
R-6 Pri krimo au trudata ellandigho en sia kariero, kiu rilatas al
internacia konferenco
Tre povas esti lau la translima ofico, ke rilate al G8 Pinta Konferenco
malakcepto trafos tiun per la eniron malpermesanta kondicho, se tiu jam
estis punita, ellandigita au malakceptita che landlimo pro sia mortigo,
vundado, minaco au/kaj rompo al konstruajho au al ajho en Japanio au alia
lando rilate al okazita internacia konferenco.

Pri alia krimo en sia kariero
Tiu punita pro sia draga krimo
Tiu punita per punlaboro au malliberigo pli ol jaron au similaj.
Esceptas tiu punita pro sia krimo politika.
La esprimo ¡Ètiu punita¡É inkluzivas ne punitan dum indulga tempo kaj ne
punitan post indulga tempo dum kiu li/shi ne krimis, ne taksante chu punita
au ne, chu nun punata au jam finpunita.
Diskuteble, kio estas politika krimo. Tamen oni diras, ke tia politika
krimo, kiu konsistas el ordinara krimo ezp. mortigo, bruligo, ekster
t.n.pura politika krimo, ech se tio devenas de politika celo, ne estos
agnoskita ¡Èpolitika krimo¡É.

D-7 Chu necesas invitilo ?
R-7 Kiam oni akiras vizon por partopreni en konferenco, kunveno ktp,
necesas invitilon por postulo de vizo.
Kvankam che enira postulproceso ne tiel devigata estas invitilo, por pruvi
la datumon de la aktivo en Japanio che okazebla neceso, se vi venus Japanion
partopreni en konferenco, kunveno ktp, estus bone prepari invitilon.

D-8 Se malakcepto barus enlandighon, kio okazus ?
R-8 Kiam la landlima oficisto konkludas ke vi ne taugas al la enira
kondicho, senprokraste transsendos vin al speciala inspektisto, kiu
ekzamenos vin bushe.
En tiu ekzameno anstatauulo kaj unu el ties parenco au konatoj povas
kunesti.
En ghi oni povas doni pruvajhon kaj ekzameni pruvhomon.

Se la speciala inspektisto konkludos vin tauga al la enira kondicho, vi
povas ricevi permeson enlandighi.
Se la speciala inspektisto konkludos vin ne tauga al la enira kondicho, vi
ellandighos obeinte la konkludon, au proponos malaprobon al la Ministro pri
Leghoj antau tri tagoj post la ricevo de la anonco.

Se la Ministro pri Leghoj konkludos ke la malaproba propono havas ghustan
kialon, vi ricevos permeson enlandighi.
Se ¡Èeksterordinara afero devigi povigi enlandighon ¡É estas agnoskita ech
sen kialo, la enlandigho povas esti permesita speciale (Enlandigha Speciala
Permeso).

La periodoj ekde la pronono de la malaprobo ghis la konkludo estas malsamaj
lau ties aferoj. Se la konkludo ne venas longtempe, dume vi devas loghi en
la kontrau-enira ejo en la aerhevena domo, au proksima hotelo k.a. La
koston oni devos pagi mem.

Se la Ministro pri Legho konkludos, ke la malaproba propono ne havas ghustan
kialon, tiam venos forlasigan ordonon kun fiksado de la dato kaj la aviadilo
de forlaso.
Se la ricevinto de la forlasigan ordonon ne forlasos Japanion malfruiginte
tion, komencighas truda forlasigita proceso, kiu enigis tiun homon en la
malliberejon de la Administrejo pri Enlandigho.

WATCH / Watch Human Rights on Summit
Obserbo al Homaraj Rajtoj che la Pinta Konferenco

WATCH estas grupo, kiu traktos la prihomrajtan difektadon far de la gardado
de la Pinta Konferenco apud Toya-ko en 2008, konsistanta el chefe advokatoj
kaj aliaj.

Senrespondecaj aferoj
La utiligon de tiu chi Web (sekve nur esprimas ¡ÈWeb¡É) oni rajtas nur sub
la sekvantajn kondichojn.
La utiligo de Web signifas konsenton al tiuj kondichoj.

La informoj de Web estos renovigitaj sen antausciigo.

Informoj, kiujn WATCH aperigis sur Web, au juraj kaj aliaj informoj, kiujn
WATCH donas pre retletero (sekve nur esprimas ¡ÈInformoj¡É) estas donataj de
WATCH zorgoplene atentante verecon kaj novecon de Informoj surbaze de juro,
praktiko, hipotezo en ekzemploj kaj teorio, kaj aliaj informfontoj ; sed pri
la sekvantaj aferoj nenion respondecas.

l Akurateco, perfekteco kaj pleja noveco de Informoj
l Akurateco, perfekteco kaj pleja noveco de ligitaj hejmpaghoj
l Tio, kiel ekstersubjekta- eksterobjekta homo konkludas unuopajn aferojn
l Tia kazo, ke la Informo-baza ago au neago de utiliganto de Web au
ricevanto de la retletero (sekve ¡ÈUzanto¡É) kreus malprofiton
l Ceteraj malprofitoj rezultitaj de la uzo de Web au la ligitaj hejmpaghoj.

Interalie pri informoj pri la Administrejo pri Enlandigho
*Tio, kiel la Administrejo au la viza eldonejo ktp konkludos pri unuopaj
aferoj.
*Se Uzanto ne povus eniri Japanion kaj la vojagha elspezo kaj aliaj elspezoj
malfruktus, au suferus alian malprofiton, WATCH nenion respondecos.

WATCH donas Informojn nur cele de konsilo, tamen decidon de ago post la
ekhavo de Informoj faras propra Uzanto. WATCH ne respondecas al la ago au
neago de Uzantoj, kies ago/neago surbazas sur Informoj.
Kaj la dono de Informoj neniam naskas inter WATCH kaj Uzantoj la rilaton de
advokato kaj kliento.

Disclaimer (Korean)

Disclaimer (Korean)

면책사항

본웹사이트(「웹사이트」)의 이용은 이하와 같은 조건에한하여 인정됩니다。
웹사이트의 이용은, 본조항에의 동의로 간주됩니다。

웹사이트의 정보는 예고없이 갱신됩니다。

　WATCH가 웹사이트에 게재하는, 또는 전자메일로 제공하는 법률정보 및 그밖의 정보(「정보」)는, WATCH가 법령, 실무및 판례・학설에 있어서 통설이나 그밖의 정보원에 근거하여, 정보의 정확성, 최신성등에 최대한의 주의를 기울여 작성・제공하고 있습니다만, 이하에 관하여는 일체의 책임을 지지않습니다。

※　정보의 정확성 완전성 최신성
※　링크사이트정보의 정확성 완전성 최신성
※　제3자가 개별사안에 있어서의 판단여부에 관한사항
※　웹사이트의 이용자 또는 전자메일수신자(이용자)가 정보에 근거하여 초　래된 손해(피해)
※　그 밖에, 웹사이트및 링크사이트의 이용으로 발생한 손해(피해)

특히, 입국관리국에 관하여는

※　입국관리국당국, 사증(VISA)발행소등의 개별사안에 있어서의 판단여부
※　이용자가 입국불가능으로인하여 발생한 경비나 그밖의 비용, 또는 손해(피해)가 발생한 경우, WATCH는 책임을 지지않습니다。

　WATCH로부터의 정보는 참고자료목적으로 제공합니다만, 정보를 얻은상태에서의 행동판단은 각이용자의 판단에 의한 것으로, WATCH는　이용자가 정보에 근거하여 얻은 또는 입는 행동에 관하여 일체의 책임을 지지않습니다。

　또한, 정보제공에 의하여, WATCH와 이용자간에는 변호사와 의뢰인(고객)의 관계는 성립하지 않습니다。

Immigration Q&A (Korean) (1/3)

Immigration Q&A (Korean) (1/3)

면책사항

개정판 질문리스트와 해설

Q1：서밋회의와 관련하여 일본에 입국하여 체재하기 위해서는 어떤 절차가 필요합니까?
Q2：사증(VISA)은 필요합니까? 사증(VISA)이 면제되는 나라는 어디인가요?
Q3：입국절차의 흐름은 어떻게 됩니까? 상륙심사시에는 어떠한 질문이 있는가요?
Q4：상륙조건에 적합한다라는 것은 어떻게 증명합니까?
Q5：체재처(체류처)를 먼저 정해둘 필요가 있습니까?
Q6：전과 또는 전력이 있는 경우에는 입국이 거부됩니까?
Q7：초대장은 필요합니까?
Q8：입국이 거부되면 어떻게 되는가요?

해　설

Q1：서밋회의와 관련하여 일본에 입국하여 체재하기 위해서는 어떤 절차가 필요합니까?
A：
　일본에 입국하기위해서는 원칙적으로 사증(VISA)를 취득하신 후 출입국심사장에서 상륙허가를 받을 필요가 있습니다.
　사증(VISA)이란, 재외일본대사관이나 영사관에서 발급되는 것이고, 외국인이 일본에 입국하여 체재하는데 적합한다는 것을 「추천」하는 것입니다.
　사증(VISA)이 있다고하여도 상륙허가를 받지못하면 상륙할 수 없다는 것을 주의하셔야 합니다.
　상륙허가는 출입국심사장에서 입국심사관의 상륙심사를 받고, 상륙조건에 적합하다고 인정되는 경우 발급됩니다。
　입국후 일본에 재류하면서, 일정의 활동을 하기 위해서는 「재류자격」이 필요합니다. 상륙허가시, 입국심사관이 외국인의 입국・재류목적에 따라서, 재류자격, 재류기간을 결정합니다。외국인은 재류자격이 허용하는 범위내의 활동과 통상의 사회생활상의 활동을 할 수 있습니다。서밋회의에 관련하여 입국하는 경우에는, 통상적으로 「단기체재」의 재류자격에 해당되는 것으로 생각이 됩니다.

Q2：사증(VISA)은 필요합니까? 사증(VISA)이 면제되는 나라는 어디인가요?
A：
　원칙적으로 필요하고, 상륙하기전에 재외일본대사관이나 영사관에서 취득하지않으면 안됩니다。
　단, 「단기체재」의 재류자격에 관해서는 60개국이상의 나라에서 사증(VISA)이 면제되어 있습니다。
　사증이 면제되는 나라・지역의 리스트의 링크는 아래와 같습니다。
(http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/02.html)
　이러한 나라의 여권을 소지하는 외국인은 「단기체재」목적의 도항(상륙)에는 사증(VISA)이 필요하지 않습니다.

Immigration Q&A (Korean)（2/3）

Immigration Q&A (Korean)（2/3）

Q3：입국절차의 흐름은 어떻게 됩니까? 상륙심사시에는 어떠한 질문이 있는가요?
A：
　출입국심사장에서 입국심사관에게 여권・사증(VISA)・출입국기록카드를 제시하고, 상륙허가를 신청합니다。
　입국심사관은, 여권과 사증(VISA)이 유효하고, 상륙조건에 적합한지의 여부를 심사합니다. 입국심사관이 상륙조건에 적합하다고 인정하면, 지문과 얼굴사진을 촬영한 후(거부하면 입국할수 없음), 여권에 상륙허가 증인과 재류자격이 부여됩니다.
　상륙조건 이란
（１）여권과 사증(VISA)이 필요한 경우에는, 사증(VISA)이 유효 하고
（２）신고한 활동이 허위가 아니고
（３）재류기간이 법무청령의 규정에 적합하고(단기체재의 재류자격인 경우는 90일・30일 또는 15일로 되어있습니다。)
（４）상륙거부사유에 해당하지 않은 것
상륙거부사유란, 예를들어 아래와 같은 사유를 말합니다.
- 정치범죄이외의 범죄에 의한 형벌을 받은 적이 있는 자(해설6참조)
- 국제경기대회나, 각국의 수뇌 또는 각료급의 대표가 참가하는 국제회의에 관련하여 살인, 상해, 폭행, 협박 또는 건조물・기물파손등으로 인하여 일본 또는 제3국의 법령에 위반하여 형벌에 처한경우, 또는 일본에서 강제퇴거, 또는 제3국으로부터 강제퇴거 되어,(퇴거・출국을 명하는 처분을 받아 자주적으로 퇴거・출국한 경우나, 입국・상륙이 거부된 경우도 같음), 일본에서 거행되는 국제경기대회・회의의 경과, 또는 결과에 관련하여 또는 원만한 실시를 방해할 목적을 가지고, 당해 국제경기대회등의 개최장소 또는 그 부근의 시정촌의 구역내 또는 그 근방의 불특정 또는 다수가 사용하는 장소에 있어서 살인, 상해, 폭행, 협박이나, 건조물・기물파손등의 위험이 있는 자.

　입국심사관으로부터는 특히 입국목적과 체재기간의 질문을 받을 경우가 많다고 생각됩니다. 또, 그 외의 상륙조건의 적합여부에 의문이 있는 경우에는, 그러한 것에 관해서도 질문을 받을 수 있습니다.

더우기, 법무성은 경찰청, 외무성과 연휴하여, 타국으로부터 정보수집을 행하고 있으며, 과거의 서밋회의, APEC, WTO등의 국제회의와 관련하여 타국에서 처분을 받은 자의 정보는 축적되어 있다고 생각됩니다.
입국관리실무상, 과거에 개최된 국제회의와 관련하여 타국에서 처분을 받은 경우가 있으면, 상륙거부사유에 해당된다고 판단할 가능성이 높다고 생각됩니다.

Q4：상륙조건에 적합한다라는 것은 어떻게 증명합니까?
A：
　입국심사관으로부터 상륙조건의 적합여부에 관하여 입증을 요구받은 경우를 대비하여, 사전에　아래와 같은 서류를 준비하여, 필요에 따라 입국심사관에게 제시하는 것도 좋다고 생각됩니다。
（１）일본에서 출국하기 위한 교통기관의 티켓(표) 또는 그것에 준하는 운송업자가 발행하는 보증서(예; 항공편 또는 선박귀로티켓(표))
（２）일본이외의 나라에 입국할수 있는 유효한 여권
（３）재류중의 일체경비 지불능력을 증명하는 자료(사안에 따라 다릅니다만, 예를들면, 공적기관이 발행하는 소득증명서, 예금잔고증명서의 원본을 준비하는 것이 좋습니다。 또한 필요한 경비에 대해서는 일본에서의 활동내용 이나 체재기간에 따라 차이가 있다고 사료됩니다。)
（４）그 외에 참고가 될수 있는 자료(예를들면, 초대장, 참가하는회의 그 외의 회의관계자료, 체재예정표등은, 일본에서의 활동내용을 증명할수 있는 자료입니다만, 개별사안에 따라 다릅니다。)

Immigration Q&A (Korean)（3/3）

Immigration Q&A (Korean)（3/3）

Q5：체재처(체류처)를 먼저 정해둘 필요가 있습니까?
A：
　미리, 체재처를 정하여 놓고 입국심사관부터 질문이 있는 경우에는 대답할 필요가 있습니다。

Q6：전과 또는 전력이 있는 경우에는 입국이 거부됩니까?
A：
국제회의에 관련하는 전과・강제퇴거력：
　입국관리실무상, 과거에 개최된 국제회의와 관련하여 일본　또는　다른나라에서, 살인, 폭행, 협박, 건조물・기물파손으로 처벌을 받거나, 강제퇴거, 상륙거부를 당한 사실이 있으면 G8서밋회의에 관련하여 상륙거부사유에 해당되는 가능성이 높다고 생각됩니다。
그 외의 전과：
　일본 또는 일본이외의 나라법령에 위반하여, 1년이상의 징역 또는 금고, 이것과 상당하는 형에 처한사실이 있는 자. 단, 정치범죄에 의한 형에 처한 자는 해당하지 않는다 라고 되어 있습니다。
　그리고,「형에 처했다」라는것은 형의 집행여부, 형의 집행종료여부를 막론하고　집행유예기간중의 자, 집행유예기간을 무사히 경과한 자도 포함 된다라고 되어 있습니다。
　무엇이 정치범죄에 해당되는가에는 많은 견해가 있습니다만, 입국관리실무상에서, 순수정치범죄이외 정치범죄, 예를들면 정치적목적에서 이룬 행위라 하더라도, 살인, 방화등의 보통범죄를 구성하는 것은 「정치범죄」에 해당되지 않습니다。

Q7：초대장은 필요합니까?
A：
　회의 또는그 외의 회합에 참가하기위하여 사증(VISA)을 취득하는 경우에는 사증(VISA)신청시에 초대장이 필요합니다.
　상륙신청시에는 반드시 초대장이 필요한 것은 아닙니다만, 일본에서의 활동내용을 증명하기에는 필요할 가능성이 있으므로, 회의 또는 회합에 참가하기위하여 입국하는 경우에는 초대장을 준비해 두는 것이 좋다고 생각됩니다.


Q8：입국이 거부되면 어떻게 되나요?
A：
　입국심사관이 상륙조건에 적합하지 않다고 판단한 경우에는 바로 특별심사관에게 인도되어, 구두심사를 받게됩니다。
　이 심리에는, 대리인 및 친족 또는 지인등 1인의 입회가 가능하며, 증거의제출이나 증인신문도 가능합니다。

　특별심사관이 상륙조건에 적합하다고 판단한 경우에는, 상륙허가가 부여됩니다만, 특별심사관이 상륙조건에 적합하지 않다고 판단한 경우에는,그 인정에 따라 출국하거나, 또는 그통지를 받은 날부터 3일이내에 법무대신에게 이의를 신청할 수 있습니다。

　법무대신이 이의신청에 이유가 있다고 판단하면, 상륙허가가 부여됩니다만, 이유가없는 경우에도 「특별히 상륙를 허가해야될 사정」이 있다고 인정이 되면, 그 사람의 상륙을 특별히 허가(상륙특별허가)할수 있다고 규정되어 있습니다。

　이의신청에서 재결까지의 기간은 사안에 따라 다르고, 조속한 재결이 이루어지지않는 경우에는 그 기간 공항이면 공항터미널내의 상륙방지시설 또는 그 부근의 호텔등에 거취하게 됩니다. 그 비용은 본인부담으로 되어 있습니다.

　법무대신이 이의신청에 이유가 없다는 재결은 한 경우에는 퇴거명령이 부여되어 출국일과 출국편이 지정됩니다。
　퇴거명령을 받아, 지연없이 일본에서 퇴거하지 않는 경우에는, 강제퇴거수속이 개시되어, 입국관리국수용소에 수용되게 됩니다。

Immigration Questions and Answers

Immigration Questions and Answers
(Please read the disclaimer first.)

Q1: What permissions do I need if I want to enter and stay in Japan for the G8 Summit?
Q2: Do I need a visa? Which countries are exempted from the visa requirement?
Q3: What is immigration procedure like? What am I going to be asked?
Q4: How can I prove that I comply with the landing conditions?
Q5: Do I have to know where to stay in Japan?
Q6: Will I be refused to enter if I have a criminal record?
Q7: Do I need an invitation?
Q8: What happens if I am refused entry to Japan?


Q1: What permissions do I need if I want to enter and stay in Japan for the G8 Summit?

A:
To enter Japan, under general law you need a visa (see Q2 for visa exemption) AND a landing permission.
Visas are "recommendations" issued by the Japanese embassy or consulate which suggest that the holder is acceptable for entering and staying in Japan.
Please note that even if you have a visa, you cannot enter Japan only if you fail to obtain a landing permission.
A landing permission is obtainable upon arrival in Japan, if the immigration officer finds that you meet the landing conditions (see Q3&4 for details).

Furthermore, in order to stay in Japan and engage in certain activities, you need a "resident status". Resident status describes the scope of your stay in Japan and is determined by an immigration officer in accordance with the purpose of your visit. You are allowed to engage in activities within the limits of your resident status and in "normal" social activities. If you visit Japan for the G8 Summit, you need the resident status of a "temporary visitor".


Q2: Do I need a visa? Which countries are exempted from the visa requirement?

A:
Basically, If you have a non-Japanese passport, you need a visa which you have to obtain at a Japanese embassy or consulate outside Japan BEFORE landing in Japan.
However, over 60 countries and areas are exempted from the visa requirement. Please see the list on the website of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

If you possess a passport of one of the listed countries, you do not need a visa for a short-term stay as a temporary visitor, provided that you obtain the landing permission upon arrival (see Q1).


Q3: What is immigration procedure like? What am I going to be asked?

A:
When passing through passport control at an airport or seaport, you have to show your passport, immigration form and - if necessary - a visa to the immigration officer and apply for landing permission. The immigration officer will check whether your passport and - if necessary - visa are valid and whether you comply with the landing conditions. If the immigration officer finds that you meet the landing conditions, you will be photographed and fingerprinted. If you refuse to be photographed or fingerprinted you will not be allowed to enter Japan. After the photographing and fingerprinting, the immigration officer will stamp the landing permission into your passport and grant a residence status.

Landing conditions can include:

1. You must hold a valid passport with a valid visa (the countries referred to in Q2 are exempt from the visa requirement).
2. Your statements about your planned activities in Japan must be true.
3. The period of stay must comply with the Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice (for short-term visits, a period of stay can vary between 15, 30 and 90 days, depending on your nationality).
4. You do not fall under any of the grounds for denial of landing.

Grounds for denial of landing can include:

- You have been sentenced to imprisonment for reasons other than political offenses. (See Q6)

- You have been convicted for a drug offense and sentenced to a penalty.

- You have been
a) convicted for killing, injuring, assaulting or threatning a person or damaging a building or other objects in relation to an international conference where heads of state or representatives of ministerial level have participated, or to an international sport competition,
OR
b) deported from Japan or any other country for the above reasons (including the case you were refused entry to a country or you have left a country "voluntarily" after being ordered to leave)
AND
c) you are likely to kill, injure, assault or threaten a person, or damage a building or other objects in Japan in relation to an international conference.

Refusal may also take place where the Minister of Justice has reasonable grounds to believe that you are likely to commit an act which could be detrimental to the interests or public security of Japan.

In most of the cases, the immigration officer will ask you what the purpose of your visit is and how long you will stay, but he/she may also ask you other questions concerning the landing conditions.

However, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Agency and the Foreign Ministry have been and are collecting information about people who have been convicted in relation to past Summits and international conferences, such as APEC and the WTO.

From the point of view of immigration practice, it is very likely that people who have been convicted in relation to past international conferences will be deemed to fall under the grounds for a denial of landing.


Q4: How can I prove that I comply with the landing conditions?

A:
If the immigration officer has any doubts whether you comply with the landing conditions, he/she may ask you to prove that you meet the conditions. It is therefore desirable to prepare the following documents prior to visiting Japan so that you can show them to the immigration officer if required:

1) A ticket for boarding an airplane or a vessel to leave Japan, or a written guarantee issued by a transport company.
2) A valid passport which enables you to enter foreign countries out of Japan.
3) Documents certifying that you can cover all expenses incurred during your stay in Japan. The amount of expenses depends on activities, the period and other aspects of your stay. Which documents you need differs from case to case, but it is preferable to bring an original documentation or bank balances or a proof of earnings issued by a public institution.
4) Other documents necessary to prove what activities you will engage in, e.g., invitation, materials concerning the conferences or meetings, schedule, etc., differing from case to case.


Q5: Do I have to know where to stay in Japan?

A:
Yes. You have to decide where to stay in Japan beforehand and answer if asked by the immigration officer.


Q6: Will I be refused to enter if I have a criminal record?

A:
a) Convictions or deportations in relation to international conferences:

If you have been convicted, deported or refused entry to any country for killing, injuring, threatning a person or destroying a building or an object in relation to an international conference in the past, you will probably be denied entry to Japan.

b) Other convictions:

Your application for entry will be refused if you have been sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more, or to an equivalent penalty in the past, irrespective of whether or not the sentence has been executed, whether or not the sentence is completed and whether or not the probation time has ended. However, this shall not apply to those convicted of a political offense. "Political offense" does not include criminal offenses which constitutes a "normal" offense, such as homicide, assault, etc., even if it was committed for political reasons.

Besides these, if you have been penalized for drug crimes, you will be rejected.


Q7: Do I need an invitation?

A:
If you apply for a visa in order to participate at conferences and other meetings, you need an invitation.

For the landing permission, you do not necessarily need an invitation, but it is possible that you will be asked to prove that your statements about your activities in Japan are correct. Therefore, if you want to participate at conferences and meetings, it could be helpful to have an invitation.


Q8: What happens if I am refused entry to Japan?

A:
If the immigration officer decides that you do not satisfy the landing conditions, you will be delivered to a special inquiry officer, who will hold a hearing.

Your representative and/or one of your relatives or acquaintances are allowed to attend the hearing. It is also possible to produce evidence and to hear witnesses.

If the special inquiry officer finds that you conform to the landing conditions, he/she will grant a landing permission. Otherwise, he/she will notify you that you have been refused entry. In this case, you can either accept this finding and leave the country OR file an objection with the Minister of Justice within 3 days from receipt of the notice. Then the Minister of Justice will decide whether or not the objection is reasonable. Even if he finds that the objection is non-reasonable, in very special cases, he can grant a special landing permission.

The duration of the objection procedure may vary from case to case. If the objection is not decided promptly, you will stay in a special facility at the airport or a nearby hotel for which you have to pay.

If the Minister of Justice decides that the objection is non-reasonable, he will order you to leave Japan and determine the date of departure and which flight to take. If you do not leave promptly after receiving the order of departure, a compulsory deportation procedure will be put in force and you will be taken into immigration control facilities.

For further information about the above procedure, please read the Articles 10 to 13 Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

Disclaimer

The content of this website is provided only under the conditions below.
Using this website is deemed as a consent to these conditions.

The content of this website is subject to change at any time and without any prior announcement.

The correctness and up-to-dateness of the information provided by WATCH via e-mail or on this website ("information") are examined thoroughly considering the law, practical experience, common opinion in jurisdiction and theory and other sources.
Nevertheless, WATCH disclaims all liability with respect to the correctness, completeness and up-to-dateness of the information. This shall also apply to the information of any hyper-linked websites.

WATCH provides the information exclusively for informational purposes. However, based on the information, every user of this website or the recipient of the e-mail sent by WATCH ("user") has to decide on his or her own responsibility whether and how to act.

WATCH shall not be liable for any damages arising from any actions the user takes or does not take based on the information, or any other damages resulting from the use of this website or other internet resources hyper-linked to this website.

Especially, WATCH shall not be liable for any decisions made by third parties, such as immigration authorities, embassies and consulates, in the particular cases and for any damages, such as travel expenses and other expenses, arising from the fact that the user fails to enter Japan.

Providing information or using/viewing it does not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and WATCH.

Information Exchange between Germany and Japan on Security Issues

The German government has responded to a parliamentary query by the left-wing party Die Linke about the exchange of intelligence between Germany and Japan on security issues regarding the G8 Summit.

According to the German government, there have been some visits from Germany to Japan and vice versa.

The chief of the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) visited Japan in August 2007. Reportedly, he did not give any specific advice to the Japanese, but promised to provide any information necessary to evaluate the security situation in Japan in case potentially violent "disquieters" from Germany should join the protests against the G8 Summit in Japan. The Chief also stated that there were no signs yet that the so-called "black block" and other groups would menace the summit in Japan.

There was another visit by a delegation of the Federal Ministry of the Interior to Japan in September 2007.

In response to the questions asked by the Japanese side, the Federal Criminal Police Office provided information about both "radical" and "non-radical" organizations opposed to globalization.

On the other hand, a delegation of the National Police Agency of Japan visited the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany last autumn to learn about the experiences from the Summit in Heiligendamm.

The information exchange also involved military information. The military attaché of the Japanese Embassy in Berlin visited the Federal Defense Ministry twice in the autumn/winter of 2007 and requested information about the military activities in Heiligendamm. These military activities referred to such matters as the measures intended with regard to a possible terrorist attacks, and especially the preventive measures of the air traffic security authorities, Federal Armed Forces on alert, measures in case of possible military/non-military incidents and the legal basis for the activities of the military.

The Federal Government also admitted that the personal information relating to a Japanese protester who was arrested in Rostock in June 2007 was recorded in the data files known as "INPOL-KAN", "INPOL-IS" and in the data file of the Federal Criminal Police Office "IgaST" (International Operating Potentially Violent Disquieter).
The Japanese authorities learned about the arrest via a Japanese contact investigator who was operating at the "international contact investigators' center" which was set up at the Federal Criminal Police Office during the summit.

List of the lawyers joining WATCH

This is the list of the lawyers joining WATCH.
(Name, Location of office)

Yukihide Nakamura, Shizuoka
Yuichi Kaido, Tokyo
Tadanori Onizuka, Tokyo
Mitsuru Namba, Tokyo
Kazuo Hizumi, Tokyo
Yukio Yamashita, Tokyo
Koji Asaishi, Aomori
Kiyoshi Abe, Sendai
Morihiro Ichikawa, Hokkaido Sapporo
Takayuki Matsumoto, Kobe
Mikiko Ohtani, Tokyo
Tadaaki Mutoh, Fukuoka
Shuichi Adachi, Hiroshima
Masato Wada, Tokyo
Akio Taba, Tokyo
Yasushi Tadano, Tokyo
Shoichi Ibusiki, Tokyo
Yosuke Ohnuki, Tokyo
Sachi Katoh, Tokyo
Yutaka Saitoh, Niigata
Yoshiyuki Todate, Tokyo
Yukari Hideshima, Hokkaido Sapporo
Hideki Matsuyama, Kobe
Kenji Yoshikawa, Fukui
Tohru Ino, Hokkaido Sapporo
Tadaharu Katoh, Hokkaido Sapporo
Takafumi Suzuki, Chiba
Kanae Manji, Hokkaido Sapporo
Fumio Takemura, Osaka
Yang Young Ja, Hyogo
Shoji Kosaka, Sapporo

Citizens and former riot policemen mobilized for security in Tokyo

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun

Yomiuri Shimbun, April 11th
(Translated from the Japanese)

Less than 3 months before the beginning of the G8 Summit at Lake Toya, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department - which will send over 1000 riot policemen to the venue of the Summit - also presses ahead with the preparation for the maintenance of security in the Tokyo area.

Facing unknown threats like international terrorism and radical antiglobalization movements, the Police Department also consults citizens and former riot policemen given that important facilities in the metropolitan area could become the target of terrorist attacs.

Citizens' Power

The Department asked local citizens to help with the security surveillance. In areas like Shinjuku and Ikebukuro, neighborhood associations and local merchants' associations set up an organization consisting of approximately 3000 people and watch out for suspicious persons and objects at railway stations and around important facilities.

Police executive says that it is necessary to put (security) network all over the society in order to prevent terrorist attacs in an early stage, as in the recent years, terrorist attacs have been targeting transportation facilities, tourist sites, venues of events and department stores.
Similar surveillance groups have been set up in the field of responsibility of 19 police stations by the end of March. Until July, surveillance groups of citizens shall be set up at 96 police stations.

Experts wanted

The security surveillance in Tokyo will be lax due to the fact that half of the 3000 riot policemen will be sent to the venue of the Summit. For this reason, an ad hoc-riot squad consisting of young policemen who usually work in the so-called police boxes ("koban") will be also deployed in Tokyo. This ad hoc-riot squad has not been gathered since the first visit by President Bush in 2002, so they lack experience. Therefore, retired riot policemen who have experienced the students' movements against the Japan-US Security Treaty back in the 1950s/60s have been hired as advisors since the end of 2007. They teach the fundament of security to the young policemen, such as how to use protection shields, truncheons, etc. and how to build a formation against the mob. One of the advisors says: "There are lots of young men who lack physical force and knowledge. We have to prepare them to stand against the mob which will be hostile towards the police."

Fighting excercise

Last year in Heiligendamm, some parts of the antiglobalization groups became violent and over 1000 people were detained. In Japan, heavy riots with flying Molotov cocktails have occured in the mid-1980s for the last time. Experienced policemen prepare the younger ones mentally for the operation and give excercises how to ward off burning Molotov cocktails with protection shields and to fight back with tear-gas grenades.

Just shortly before the riot squad of the Tokyo Police will be sent to Hokkaido, a final excercise involving 1000 persons - including the Security Service - will be held in early May.

Recent cases of entry refusals in the run-up to the G8 Summit

Case 1:

Kim Ae Hwa, a representative from the Korean organization "Committee of Asian Women" arrived at Narita Airport on March 7th to participate at an international conference which was planned on the following day by the "Network questioning the G8", a critical group against the G8 Summit at Lake Toya.

When she tried to pass the immigration gate around 4:40 pm, she was questioned by the immigration bureau and was refused to enter Japan. Ms. Ae Hwa declared that she was a "CAW member" and wanted to take part at the conference, but the immigration officer considered the purpose of her visit as "unclear" and denied her entry so that she had to fly back to South Korea in the evening of that day.
2 days later on March 9th, Ms. Ae Hwa attempted to enter Narita Airport with her invitation card for the second time. This time, she could enter Japan without any problems and was able to participate at some parts of the conference.

Case 2:

Martin Kraemer, a German activist and Doctor of Agriculture, attempted to enter Otaru Port via Sakhalin, Russia, with a passenger-freighter on March 10th with the objective to participate at a conference related to G8 in Sapporo. However, the immigration authorities in Otaru denied his entry without any reasons. Mr. Kraemer had to remain in the vessel while lawyers interviewed him and filed an objection with the immigration authorities. The authorities insisted on the refusal of entry, so Mr. Kraemer returned on March 14th with the vessel to Russia and flew back to Germany.


Case 3:

The Italian philosopher Antonio Negri was planning to participate at a symposium organized by the Tokyo University, Kyoto University and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music which was scheduled for the end of March. In the 1970s, Mr. Negri was accused of being involved in the Red Brigades. After he was sentenced to prison, he went into exile to Paris, returned 1998 to Italy, where he was imprisoned for some time. In 2003, he was granted amnesty and returned to Paris where he still lives today. For his visit to Japan, the Japanese embassy in Paris had assured Mr. Negri that he did not need visa. Thus, on March 17th - 2 days before the planned departure of Mr. Negri to Japan - the foreign ministry of Japan declared that, regarding the circumstances of the immigration control in the run-up to the G8, there was a high risk of entry refusal if Mr. Negri came to Japan without visa. And on the following day on March 18th, the foreign ministry told the organizers of the symposium that a visa could only be issued in consultation with the immigration bureau of the ministry of justice. So, without the consent of the immigration bureau, the Japanese embassy in Paris was not "able" to issue a visa for Mr. Negri. The ministry of justice/immigration bureau announced that a visa could only be issued if the organizers submitted official documents to prove that Mr. Negri was a political criminal. Mr. Negri had to renounce his visit to Japan, as he was not able to collect all the documents required by the immigration bureau in the short time left until the symposium.


Letter from Antonio Negri (in French, published on the website of the organizers of the symposium):


Lettre aux amis japonais

Chers amis,

Une serie de circonstances totalement imprevues nous obligent a renoncer a notre voyage au Japon, alors que nous nous faisions une joie immense de ce sejour, des discussions passionnantes et des contacts intellectuels, des echanges et des collaborations que nous imaginions deja.
Il y a presque six mois, nous nous etions renseignes avec l'aide precieuse de l'International House of Japan: les citoyens des pays membres de l'Europe ne doivent pas demander un visa d'entree au Japon s'ils n'y gagnent pas de salaire. Nous avons soigneusement verifie aupres de l'Ambassade du Japon a Paris, cela ne posait aucun probleme pour nous, c'etait parfait.
Il y a deux jours, lundi 17, on nous a contre toute attente demande ce visa - alors que le reglement sur les visas n'avait pourtant pas change. Nous nous sommes precipites a l'Ambassade du Japon a Paris et avons rempli tous les formulaires necessaires, fourni toute la documentation, les invitations, les programmes, les billets d'avion. Hier, on nous a demande en plus toute une serie de documents qui concernaient le passe politique et le statut juridique de Toni depuis les annees 1970. C'est une documentation enorme, en langue italienne, qui remonte a longtemps, et que nous n'avons bien entendu pas sous la main ? et qu’aucun des vingt-deux pays visites par Toni dans les cinq dernieres annees n’a jamais demande.
L'avion partait ce matin - nous sommes restes a Paris.

C'est avec une immense deception que nous renoncons a ce voyage.
Nous voudrions dire a tous ceux qui ont contribue pendant de longs mois a l'organiser (la professeur Kobata, le professeur Ichida, M. Sonoda - notre aide precieuse de tous les jours -, les traducteurs, les collegues des universites, les etudiants) que nous avons apprecie a distance leur amitie, et que nous esperons tres fort que cette amitie ne cessera de grandir dans le futur. Nous savons combien leur travail a ete intense, et nous leur rendons hommage.
Nous voulons croire que ce n'est que partie remise, et que, bientot, nous aurons l'occasion de vous rendre visite.

Avec notre amitie et nos regrets,

Judith Revel et Antonio Negri
Paris, le 19 mars 2008

Japanese page

Please find WATCH's Japanese blog under:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/watch-summit

Charter of Foundation of WATCH

Watch Human Rights on Summit
- Network of Lawyers observing Human Rights around G8 Summit -

CHARTER OF FOUNDATION

April 11, 2008


Yukihide Nakamura, Attorney at Law, Shizuoka
Yuichi Kaido, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Tadanori Onizuka, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Mitsuru Namba, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Kazuo Hizumi, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Makoto Teranaka, Amnesty International Japan
Yukio Yamashita, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Koji Asaishi, Attorney at Law, Aomori
Kiyoshi Abe, Attorney at Law, Sendai
Morihiro Ichikawa, Attorney at Law, Sapporo
Takayuki Matsumoto, Attorney at Law, Kobe
Mikiko Ohtani, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Tadaaki Mutoh, Attorney at Law, Fukuoka
Shuichi Adachi, Attorney at Law, Hiroshima
Masato Wada, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Akio Taba, Attorney at Law, Tokyo
Yasushi Tadano, Attorney at Law, Tokyo


1. The G8 Summit

This year in July, the G8 Summit will be held at Lake Toya in Hokkaido.
Conferences related to the G8 Summit will take place all over Japan in cities such as Tokyo, Niigata, Kobe, Yokohama, Aomori, Osaka and Kyoto.

Meanwhile, the police have intensified their surveillance of civil movements. They have visited offices of NGOs, who are planning actions during the summit, and have questioned NGO activists about their activities.

Last year, a Korean citizen was denied the use of the internet in an internet-café when he visited Hachinohe in order to prepare a Peace and Green Boat for a joint Japan -South Korean event.

We are afraid that in the months ahead, immigration control will be practiced more severely than ever and members of NGOs from abroad who are planning any actions will be refused to enter Japan. Already, some incidents have occured which affirm these concerns:
On 7 March 2008, a member of a Korean NGO who intended to visit Japan to participate at a conference was refused entry to Japan at the Narita Airport and was obliged to fly back to South Korea. She was permitted entry on her second attempt to enter the country.

Also, a German who tried to enter Otaru Harbour from Russia with a cargo-passenger boat was refused at the border.

Media reports do not show any criticism against the police repression against the civil movements.
In the last few years, the police authorities of different countries have been suppressing civil movements related to G8 Summits partly with violence. Attracting the world’s attention as the host of the Summit, Japan might limit civil activities under the pretext of securing the Summit, regardless of whether the civil activities are related to the Summit. Therefore, we think that there is a high risk that the police will exercise high levels of controls when it comes to people moving through international boarders, as well as conducting high levels of surveillance. Even the mildest radical civil activities during the Summit or related conferences may receive high levels of attention.


2. Situation of NGOs and civil groups around G8

NGOs committed to environmental, poverty, development, human rights and peace themselves have established a „2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum“. The Forum, established in January 2007, consists of over 100 groups.

The NGO Forum submits propositions to the government, drafts policies and organizes symposiums and other activities to promote its aims.
In Hokkaido where the Summit will take place, the „Hokkaido Peoples’ Forum on the G8 Summit“ was founded in September 2007 and has started its own activities.
On the other hand, various groups who are critical of the G8 itself have got together in the „Network Questioning the G8“ which has already started its activities and is planning meetings and demonstrations. This network also comprises the Japan Peace Committee and the Peace Forum.　

3. Purpose of the Watch Human Rights on Summit

Due to the possibility of civil liberties being curtailed, we have established the „Watch Human Rights on Summit“, which is a lawyers' network for the observation of human rights around the G8 Summmit. We have decided to set up a website/blog in order to share information and to provide legal advice in case of human rights violations and to provide legal support, if this proves to be needed.

Lawyers from Hokkaido, Aomori, Sendai, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka are participating at this observation network, with plans for more lawyers to assist from Hokkaido, Kyoto, Osaka and elsewhere. In our network, lawyers who specialise in immigration control are engaged so as to help people coming from abroad.


4. Summary of the activities of the network (schedule)

a. Set up a blog for exchange of information:
WATCH will provide the latest information about entry refusals and arrests.

b. Provide legal advice to NGOs:
WATCH will issue brochures about the immigration procedure and the penal procedure after the arrest and provide an English version on the web.

c. WATCH will campaign in the Japanese and international media against incidents of excessive control and surveillance by the Japanese authorities during the Summit.

5. Organization Plan

Representative
Yukihide Nakamura, Attorney at Law

Secretary General
Yuichi Kaido, Attorney at Law

Deputy Secretary General
Morihiro Ichikawa, Attorney at Law
Akio Taba, Attorney at Law
Makoto Teranaka, Secretary General of Amnesty International Japan
Mitusuru Namba, Attorney at Law
Kazuo Hizumi, Attorney at Law
Yukio Yamashita, Attorney at Law

Secretariat
Kenichiro Okada (Hitotsubashi University)
Chigaya Kinoshita (Hitotsubashi University)
Ko Watari (Assessorin jur.)

Contact

Tokyo Kyodo Law Office, 5th Floor Sawada Building, 1-15-9 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0022

Tel: 03-3341-3133
Mail: watch08summit[at]gmail.com


*Immigration Hotline

WATCH offers an emergency hotline to help those who are having troubles to enter Japan with regard to the G8 Summit or highly possible to face such troubles, and those who are inviting such people to Japan.

The following telephone number should be valid till the end of July.

(+81) +80 3410 2780

If you pass this number to third parties, please make sure to circulate
the text above at the same time.