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.
2008/04/27
Information Exchange between Germany and Japan on Security Issues
2008/04/15
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
2008/04/14
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.
2008/04/12
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
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.
Press conference
Press conference on the formation of WATCH will be held as follows:
Friday, April 11
from 15:30
@Shiho-kisha Club
Chiyoda-ku Kasumigaseki 1-1-4
Inside the Tokyo High Court