Lead counsel for the Tokyo Two defence, Yuichi Kaido (Center), Junichi Sato (Left) and Toru Suzuki (Right) ©Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Greenpeace
Aomori, February 15, 2010 – The first day of the trial of anti whaling activists left the prosecution struggling to prove its own arguments, with their witnesses being forced to agree with the defence on key points.
The head of sales for Kyodo Senpaku – the company contracted by the government’s Institute for Cetacean Research, to run the whaling fleet, admitted under defence cross examination that “souvenirs” of whale meat were given to crew, but the cost was not accounted for in financial statements, despite the whaling programme being a government funded project.
He also contradicted previous public statements where he had insisted that there was no practice of giving out souvenir meat. Today he admitted under oath that souvenirs are no longer given to officials, following the Greenpeace allegations in 2008. “Junichi and Toru’s evidence about the exposure of embezzlement of public funds has remained the same for the last eighteen months, but the story offered by the prosecution witnesses does not stand up to even one day of scrutiny,” said Sarah Burton, Greenpeace International Deputy Programme Director and lawyer, who attended the trial in Aomori. “It is clear that the official version of the truth cannot be trusted and the original investigation begun by Junichi and Toru must be immediately re-opened.” The prosecution also called the manager of the Seino Transport courier company, which shipped the boxes of embezzled whale meat around Japan in April 2008 once the fleet returned from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. In his testimony he confirmed that he had paid the owner of the box about 30,000 yen (US$300) out of his own pocket, and did not register this payment. He also admitted that the owner had told him the box contained food and not the “cardboard” listed on the contents sheet.
The trial has attracted international and domestic media attention as well as the support of numerous human rights groups, lawyers, politicians and over a quarter of a million people who have signed a demand to end the prosecution. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recently rendered an opinion that the previous Japanese government’s treatment of Sato and Suzuki had breached their human rights – the first time the Working Group has given such an opinion in Japan. “This trial is not just about a box of whale meat, it is about respect for human rights, upholding international law and having the freedom to carry out legitimate public interest investigations,” added Dr Kumi Naidoo Greenpeace International Executive Director. “It is vital that Prime Minster Hatoyama shows the world that his government is brave enough to be a true democracy.”
The trial hearing will reconvene on March 8th when the defence witnesses will be called, including crew members of the whaling fleet and international law expert Professor Dirk Voorhoof. Testimony is due to last four days. It is expected that the closing statements will be delivered on May 14th and a verdict sent down in June, on a date to be decided.
Contacts:
Greg McNevin - Greenpeace International Communications,
Kyoko Murakami - Greenpeace Japan Communications,
Sara Holden – Tokyo Two Campaign Coordinator,
Notes:
The full Opinion of the Working Group can be found at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/tokyo-two/wgad-opinion
In January 2008, Greenpeace began an investigation into whistleblower allegations that organised whale meat embezzlement was being conducted by crew inside Japan's so-called ’scientific‘ whaling programme, which is funded by Japanese taxpayers. The informer was previously involved in the whaling programme, and following his advice Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki began an investigation, eventually discovering firm proof that cardboard boxes containing whale meat were being secretly shipped to the homes of whaling fleet crew - and then sold for personal profit. Junichi delivered a box of this whale meat to the Tokyo Prosecutors' Office in May 2008, and filed a report of embezzlement. However, the embezzlement investigation was dropped on 20 June - the same day that both men were arrested and then held for 26 days before being charged with theft and trespass. They are currently facing up to ten years in prison for their actions.
More:
Whaling On Trial Greenpeace International
Whaling on trial -- the facts Greenpeace International