2008-01-30
The G8 Summit will take place between the 7th and 9th of July. Our action days will begin on the 1st of July. There will be a series of themed demos in Sapporo during succeeding four days. July 5th shall be the day of mass rally and demo in Sapporo. We propose to make it the international day of action, calling a simultaneous protest in different cities of the world. During the three days of the Summit we are planning mass direct action at sites near Lake Toya. People are trying to approach the site as close as possible to send their voices.
Our presentation consists of following contents:
(1) Action Plans
(2) About the projects
(3) Facilities for foreign visitors
(4) Japanese police behavior and Immigration situations
(5) call out
(1) Action Plans
The G8 Summit will take place between the 7th and 9th of July. Our
action days will begin on the 1st of July. There will be a series of
themed demos in Sapporo during succeeding four days. For now the themes
are tentatively: (1) Anti-neo-liberalism, namely, anti-poverty,
precarity, homelessness; (2) farmers’day, characterizing Hokkaido as the
land of farmers; (3) anti-military base/anti-war; and (4) the day of
natives and minorities, symbolizing the Ainu people, Hokkaido’s native
habitants before Japan’s colonization in the 19th century.
July 5th shall be the day of mass rally and demo in Sapporo. We propose
to make it the international day of action, calling a simultaneous
protest in different cities of the world.
During the three days of the Summit we are planning mass direct action
at sites near Lake Toya. People are trying to approach the site as close
as possible to send their voices.
Various groups are planning different direct actions. The tactics are
varied. You will get the information from the affinity groups in Japan.
You are encouraged to make proposals or organize your own actions in
consultation with Japanese groups. Your creativity is most welcome and
appreciated.
(2) Various Projects
Japanese activists scene needs global connections and exposure, so we
ask for different types of participations. What is crucial primarily is
a convergence, namely, to meet and talk person to person. Aside from the
actions, we are planning following events.
Global Activist Conference: All the activists who have a little extra
time are encouraged to meet at workshops and speak about themselves.
These will take place in Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka area, and Sapporo, around
the end of June. (As we shall explain in a minute, most of the foreign
activists who go to Hokkaido have to travel either via Tokyo or Osaka.)
There will be a series of symposia, featuring activist type
intellectuals such as Michael Hardt, David Graeber, Marina Sitrin, and
Andrej Grubacic, who will come to Japan for solidarity.
Music concerts of Anti-G8 theme are planned in Tokyo, Sapporo, as well
as at the camp near Lake Toya, the site of the G8. The participants are
punks, Djs, and vanguard musicians who took part in the Sound
Demonstrations against Iraq war (we will show you the image of this type
demo later).
In Sapporo City, we are organizing screenings of films related to Global
Justice Movement and the Anti-G8 projects from the past.
Various kinds of radical theater groups are going to take part in the
anti-G8 protests, some in their own theater space, others on the street
or other sites.
Abut the events organized by other groups, there will be Alternative
Summit (from July 6th to 8th), involving wider range of groups including
NGOs. NO! G8 Action is going to be part of. There will also be a summit
of the natives.
Meanwhile the state of Japan is planning a international conference of
university presidents. Against this a coalition of students’
organizations are calling for protest.
(3) Facilities for foreign visitors
Transportation: We are still researching the safest and cheapest way to
get there from different locations. We shall begin to upload the
information at our website in the near future. But so far, our tentative
conclusion is that airplane might be the cheapest way, rather than boat
or train (i.e., trans-Siberia railway as some have suggested).
To get to Sapporo, which is the nearest city from Lake Toya and the
biggest city in Hokkaido, you will have to fly either via Tokyo or
Osaka. Hokkaido is connected to the main land only via airplane or boat,
namely, there is no car traffic accessible to it. So all of you might as
well stay in either city for a period of time, before the summit and
participate in the events.
In Tokyo, we will set up a convergence center where you get information
and participate in workshops. We will secure cheapest accommodation
(about $15 per night) in a certain area of the city. Also we will
organize network of people who are willing to accommodate the visitors
for free. In Osaka/Kyoto area, we shall set up similar facilities and
situations. But these two urban areas are very different and the
activist communities are also different.
In Sapporo, there will be a convergence center. There will be a camp
where you can stay with your own tents and sleeping bags. Vegan food is
available for free, with sliding scale donations. There will be
workshops and events.
There will be an independent media center, where foreign media activists
can go and set up their station.
From Sapporo Lake Toya can be reached either by train (three hours) or
car (two hours). Bus ride will take three hours.
There will be a camp and media center as well. This is the place where
the main events will take place.
(4) About Japanese Police and Immigration Issues
The most common weapons Japanese police carry are truncheons, plastic
shields, and sand-stuffed gloves. They used to use tear gas and
water-cannon, but not much recently. Pepper spray has not been used for
some time, but some source says that they might start using it.
They don’t do mass-arrests like the European and American police. They
tend to do close combat by forming a line and arrest people one by one
by drawing them into their side.
It is not illegal to hide your face on the street. One does not have to
respond to their interrogations; one does not have to let them check
their belongings. These are not obligation but only voluntary cooperation.
They rarely start attacking protesters like elsewhere; they are not as
aggressive as American and European police forces.
If you are Japanese, once you are arrested, you are advised to be
completely silent, and likely to be held for twenty three days − the
extensions of 3 days, 10 days, and 10 days. The enormity of the custody
period has been criticized by the Amnesty International.
But there is one thing we would like you to know. In the past, foreign
political activists have rarely been arrested. The police prefer to let
them go. Probably there is a policy of not making political events
internationally known. Japan tends to be very nervous about their
international reputation. We are hoping that this will remain the same
for the anti-G8 2008.
In any case, a legal team has been formed, while politicians and civic
organizations have organized a campaign to watch police behaviors toward
the G8 2008.
The bad news is that beginning from the late November, Japan will begin
to employ the same immigration rules as the US. It is locally called the
“US Visit,” where all foreign visitors are fingerprinted and
photo-taken. People are organizing a wide opposition to this.
We cannot tell you how severe the restriction of the immigration will be
for the activists coming for the anti-G8 protests. But we can recommend
the activists who have many arrest records in the past and are nervous
about it, but absolutely want to come − please contact us and we shall
try to make special visa application.
All in all, if Japanese immigration restricts foreign visitors too
severely on this occasion, this will be made into a international stir.
We will prepare a campaign for this.
(5) Come to Lake Toya! Or International Days of Action
Most of all, we would love to have you there. This is a crucial moment
for Japanese social and political movements to open themselves to be
global and uplift their spirits. For this your creative engagement is
indispensable.
But of course, everybody cannot come. So please respond to our call for
international action day in a way most suitable for you.