Monday, August 24, 2015

Annual anti-Yasukuni actions: Marchers chant “No War!”; “No War Legislation!”





The Yasukuni Candle Action that had jointly been organized by citizens of Korea, Taiwan, Okinawa and Japan marked the 10th anniversary this year. in Tokyo with 700 participants. The program held in Tokyo on August 8 with 700 participants included a symposium on the topic of “Yasukuni Shrine as the backbone of 'proactive contribution to peace',” a concert, speeches and a march with candles. The main concern of the participants this year was the war legislation currently being debated in the Upper house. “Some members of Self Defense Forces will be killed in action if they are fully integrated into the operations of the US military. The fallen SDF members will probably be commemorated in the memorial zone in the premise of Ministry of Defense for the time being, but their deaths will lead to the full revival of 'Yasukuni-ism,' an ideology in which that the deaths of soldiers is received with veneration and gratitude and they are respected as patriotic martyrs. It will work as a message to urge others to be ready to sacrifice their lives for the country. Our activism will play an even more important role in preventing an era dominated by the ideology from coming true,” said Professor TAKAHASHI Tetsuya in the rally. As in the past, large crowds of right-wingers gathered to obstruct the march. They harassed the marchers even more violently this year, but failed to intimidate defiant marchers. The Anti-Yasukuni March was held on August 15 as was in the past years. Despite the violent obstruction by right wingers as usual, none of 200 marchers was injured this year. M

 Video (August 15 March, 3.5 min., no subtitles)


「戦争法反対!」の 声たかく~8.15反「靖国」デモを貫徹

 今年の8.15反「靖国」行動は、アジア連帯 講座など10団体で構成する実行委員会で行われた。前日には安倍談話があったばかりで、主催者アピール でも「責任主体をぼやかし日本の近代史に居直るロジックに満ちた代物」と批判していた。一行200人は午 後4時半に水道橋の「スペースたんぽぽ」からデモに出発。例年とおり、大通りに出ると右翼が待ち構え、 歩道から罵声を浴びせたり突進してきた。靖国神社そばの交差点では、数千人の群衆・右翼・機動隊が入 り乱れ、怒号が飛び交う異常な中での行進。右翼の「日本人の恥!」「朝鮮に帰れ!」という罵声が悲し く聞こえてきた。デモ隊は、元気に「靖国反対」「戦争反対」「天皇制反対」のコールを上げデモを貫徹 した。とくに「戦争法反対!」のプラカードが目立った。今年は、例年のように横断幕を奪われたり怪我 人を出さずに無事終了した。(M)  
動画(3分半)

2000 gather outside Sendai Nuclear Power Plant from across Japan; Report of August 10 protest




At 8.30am on August 10, we were standing right in front of the main gate of the Kyushu Electric Power Company's Sendai nuclear power plant, together with . Japan was about to have an active nuclear reactor, ending a period of no nukes realized and lasted for some time after the Fukushima disaster of March 11, 2011. The government had rushed to the restart: People living outside of the range of 10km radius were left without emergency evacuation plans; No one had been fully assured of the safety. The protesters outside the Sendai power plant came from all over Japan, including Fukushima, Tokyo and neighboring prefectures and various places where other nuclear power plants are located. We all regarded the issue as theirs; It is not just a matter for people of Kagoshima, the prefecture where the Sendai plant is located. “No one has ever been held responsible for the Fukushima disaster: No one is ready to take the responsibility for possible accidents to come. Japan is not qualified to run a nuclear reactor.” Many of us stood on top of the car, parked there in face of numerous policemen and other security personnel surrounding the protesters, one after another to speak to the others there. “The government has chosen the Sendai plant as the first to reactivate because it is the farthest from Tokyo among all the nuclear power plants, I think. They discriminate against the residents of regions far from the capital. Don't insult the residents of Kyushu!” shouted a woman from Oita, a prefecture in Kyushu. A former worker at a nuclear power plant spoke of his desire to stop recurrence of the tragic experience he and his co-workers had. “We just cannot understand at all,” said a French protester. (By HORIKIRI Satomi)

In Tokyo, protest was staged outside the branch office of Kyushu Electric Power Company in the evening of August 11. Many of the protesters had just returned from Kagoshima.

8.10 現地報告 : 川内 原発ゲートの真ん前に私たちは立っていた

 8月10日、朝8時半。九州電力川内原発 ゲートの真ん前に私たちは立っていた。3・11後、原発ゼロを実現してきた日本が、再び原発時代を始 めようとしている。10キロ圏外の避難計画はなく、安全性には何の確信もない中での見切り発車。地 元・鹿児島だけの問題ではないと、福島から、首都圏から、そして全国の原発地域から人々が集まった。 「いまだ福島原発事故に誰も責任をとっていない。その覚悟もない。そんな国に 原発を動かす資格はな い」 おびただしい警備の中に堂々と置かれた宣伝カーの上で、次々とマイクをにぎる。大分県の女性は 「東京から川内が一番遠いから再稼働第一号になったんだと思 う。九州をバカにするな。田舎差別だ」と 叫ぶ。「自分たちのような悲劇をくりかえさないでほしい」と訴える元原発作業員、 「われわれの理解力 を超えている」と語るフランス人も。(堀切さとみ)


Unions for youths commended for contributions to fight against deaths of overwork




The Dragon Fund to Abolish Karoshi awarded Youth Union Tokyo and Evil-arbeit Union the 9th NAKAJIMA Tomio Prize in recognition of the two unions' efforts to improve working conditions for young people. The fund that commemorates a worker at a restaurant chain who died a death from overwork (Karoshi) in August 2004, has supported efforts toward the eradication of such deaths since its establishment in 2006 and awards the prize named after the worker each year to organizations and individuals that have made significant contributions to this end.
The ceremony held in Tokyo on August 9, the Nagasaki atomic-bomb day, with 112 attendees, started with a moment of silence for Nakajima, MAEZAWA Takayuki, another worker at the same restaurant chain who passed away in 2007, MORI Mina, a worker victimized by Watami izakaya bar chain in 2008 and victims of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. The parents of Mori reported on the status of the lawsuit against the bar chain and its owner, WATANABE Miki, a member of the Upper House of the Diet. Professor Emeritus IGARASHI Jin, a political scientist and a former director of the Ohara Institute for Social Research, Hosei University, gave a lecture titled “Toward a society where people are respected.” (SUDA Mitsuhiro)


首都圏学生ユニオンと ブラックバイトユニオンを表彰~第9回中島富雄賞

 過労死をなくすために活動している「過労死をなくそう!龍基金」は8月9日、第9回中島富 雄賞授賞式を東京・葛飾で開催し、若者の労働環境の改善に取り組んでいる首都圏学生ユニオンとブラッ クバイトユニオンの両団体を今年の受賞者として表彰しました。ワタミ過労死遺族はワタミや渡辺美樹参 院議員ら経営者に法的責任を取らせるべく交渉に入っていると現在の裁判闘争を報告。政治学者の五十嵐 仁さん(法政大学大原社会問題研究所前所長)が「人間が大切にされる社会をめざして」と題して記念講 演を行いました。会場には満席の112人が集まりました。冒頭、すかいらーくで過労死した中島富雄さんと 前澤隆之さん、ワタミで過労死した森美菜さん、また当日が長崎原爆の日だったことから被爆者への哀悼 を表して全員で黙とうを捧げました。(須田光照) 

“Respond to our demands sincerely!” - Zenyo welders stage strike again




Members of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Tobu, working at Zenyo Corporation, a company specializes in welding rails for JR (Japan Rail) companies and other private rail operators, went on the third and fourth strikes on August 3 and 4, following the first on July 8 and the second, a 24-hour strike, on July 10. In the collective bargaining session on July 31, the company president NUMATA Masao once again flatly rejected the union's demands for increases in benefits and the workforce that had been reduced by Numata himself. 31 workers at the corporate headquarters staged a 10-hour strike from 8pm on August 3 to 6am on August 4. 10 workers at the Tokyo Rail Center sales office did an 8-hour strike from 8.30am to 4.30pm on August 4. (SUDA Mitsuteru, NUGW Tokyo Tobu)

不誠実なゼロ回答をや めなさい!~東部労組全溶支部が第3波・第4波ストライキを決行

 JRや私鉄各社のレール溶接を手がける株式会社全溶(本社:東京都練馬区)の労働者でつく る全国一般東京東部労組全溶支部は、8月3日から同4日にかけて第3波・第4波のストライキを決行し ました。7月31日に行った団体交渉で、手当 カットや人員削減をもとに戻すよう要求している組合側に対 し、全溶の沼田社長がまたもやゼロ回答を行ったためです。第3波ストは全溶支部のうち本社所属の組合 員31人が8月3日午後8時から同4日午前6時までの10時間、第4波ストは全溶支部のうち東京レールセ ンター営業所(東京都江東区)所属の組合員10人が同4日午前8時半から同日午後4時半までの8時間、 それぞれ実施しました。(須田光照) 報告動画(10分)