We tried... we really did, but it got through anyway. ACTA is almost completely unknown in Japan. Unlike in North America and Europe, I'd wager more than 75% of the population has never heard of it, and doesn't care to stay informed enough to find out. Nonetheless, and anti-ACTA movement has been building for the past few months. With no information about when or by whom it would be deliberated, we started filing paperwork to hold a protest on September 9th: Then, on August 28th, ACTA was put up for discussion in committee. The ruling government attempted to ram it through without discussion, but the opposition resisted, delaying the vote until August 31st. In spite of a few dissenting legislators, ACTA passed the committee vote and was put up for plenary vote on September 4th (later delayed until September 6th). The immediacy of the threat spurred action, and anti-ACTA activists held a protest rally in Akihabara: ...in addition to fax and e-mail campaigns to Diet legislators urging them to reject ACTA. In spite o all these efforts, ACTA was approved in a plenary session of the Diet on September 6th, at 1:00pm Needless to say, we're not happy. ACTA may have been passed, but it could hardly be said to reflect the will of the people, as the Japanese media has left it virtually unreported, and the government has made zero effort to keep the public informed. Most people who hear about ACTA and what it'll do join our campaign, but the wall of public ignorance and apathy can only be chipped away at slowly. We didn't succeed in convincing politicians to abandon ACTA. So, now our rally is going to have to be about demonstrating our anger at this decision. On September 9th, 12:40pm, Anonymous Japan and other anti-ACTA, anti-TPP, and anti Download Law campaigners are holding a march. We will start at the Nakasaiwai Gate of Hibiya Park, passing through Ginza and downtown Tokyo. This is not the end. This is just the beginning, and I hope the Japanese government is expecting us.
Not 2chan per se, but AnonOps' antics in the past few months have given birth to a number of Japanese Anons, many of whom have said they're attending the rally. Also, it turns out there's a second rally in Akihabara following our march, so once we're done we're all going to head there and make some noise. Bought myself a brand new megaphone just for the occasion.
Okay, I'll keep this brief for now. Participating in the demo as an organizer made it hard for me to get much in the way of good pics or videos, so I'm going to have to wait for stuff taken by others to filter back to me before I can post it here. I have a lot of video material that I need to edit and stitch together before I can put it up. What I can give you is a brief report and a few pictures. We gathered at Nakasaiwai Gate in Hibiya Park at 12:30pm, a short distance from Tokyo station. At a quick count, we had about 30 to 40 people (which means, of course, police estimates will say there were 3 of us). At 1:00pm, we started our march, banners, signs, and megaphones in hand. With police guidance to clear traffic, we marched through the streets of the busy Ginza shopping district, which was quite crowded on a Sunday afternoon, gathering a lot of attention. The entire route, we were flanked by a handful of livestreamers and photographers from various IT news outlets, including both the photographer for Hacker Japan and the writer of the Japanese "Security Dark Knight" blog, both of whom I've interviewed with before. After a 45 minute march, we ended in a small park near Tokyo Station. Stopping for a few last photographs there, we quickly dispersed and converged on Akihabara, where a second protest event had been planned. We met up with the others in front of the now-decommissioned Radio Kaikan Building, and from 2:00pm to 5:00pm held a rally, handing out anti-ACTA flyers to pedestrians and having various people come up and give their stories, experiences, or knowledge of ACTA and its effects and consequences over the megaphone. With these types of events, it's always hard to really know how much of an impact you really had. A lot of people saw us, but how many people paid attention? I'm not sure. But based on the reactions of the crowd, the number of people who took the time to stop, listen, take flyers and actually read them... I feel confident that we've made a dent. With ACTA already passed in Japan, it's difficult to get it undone. But anti-ACTA sentiment is slowly growing in Japan, and alongside the anti-nuke protests and recent anti-TPP and anti-US military protests growing, there's a rising recognition that the government is not listening to the will of the people. I think that message is getting through, and while it may not be realistic to expect ACTA to be undone by this government, I'm fairly sure a lot of the members of Parliament who approved it are going to regret that decision very soon. These pictures are all I have for now. More will come in from other sources, and I have several videos that I intend to splice together into a post-game video.
THIS ^^^^ qft. So proud of you guise!! also this https://whyweprotest.net/community/threads/eu-asking-your-opinion-on-the-internet.105013/#post-2181470
And wait, there's EVEN MOAR On 10/14, a group called UPLAN organized a protest march from Nishikanda Park to Akihabara, followed by the usual 3 hour standing rally in front of the Radio Kaikan Building in Electric Town. Video is still being made. Very slowly. Because I'm a lazy asshole, but at least I have more footage from this rally to mash together with the last one. And now, pictures:
