Arab News Japan
TOKYO: Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Tokyo on Saturday to denounce Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian people and to express their support for South Africa’s initiative at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that accuses Israel of genocide.
Demonstrators gathered first in the busy Shinjuku district before marching toward the Israeli embassy while calling for an immediate ceasefire and condemning the bombing of civilians in Gaza.
The protesters displayed banners demanding a boycott of various companies, including Amazon, MacDonald’s, and Puma, who, they said, effectively support the Israeli occupation.
A former Amazon group worker said he resigned from that company so as not to be indirectly complicit in the genocide. According to the non-governmental organization BDS, Amazon is involved in the Nimbus project that supports the Israeli army and government and which could harm the Palestinian people.
Portraits of Nelson Mandela wearing a Keffiyeh were displayed alongside the word “Justice” in reference to t the IJC case filed by South Africa. Mandela, who helped end apartheid in South Africa, once declared: “We cannot be completely free until the Palestinians are free.”
A demonstrator carried two signs showing the judges and lawyers of the ICJ and said that the actions against Israel were not enough, but at least the whole world now knows about the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinians.
The protesters in front of the Israeli embassy in Tokyo advanced in turns toward its entrance, demanding an end to the occupation and stopping the killing of Palestinian children.
Danny Jin, a young mixed-race Japanese-Palestinian rap singer, also spoke about the ICJ action and said that the people of the genocide committed by Israel must immediately stop without waiting for the ICJ to rule on the matter. He insisted that the Japanese government, which, according to the Constitution of Japan, should protect peace, increases its pressure on the Israeli government.
In front of the Israeli embassy, citizens remained late despite rain and snow to signal their determination that Israel halt the genocide in Gaza.