Arab News Japan
TOKYO: Gaza sympathizers gathered in the crowded Shibuya district of Central Tokyo on Saturday to honor the lost lives of about 15 thousand Palestinians – many of them small children and babies, murdered by the Israeli military occupation.
“Our tears continue as we honor them all,” one of the organizers said in a speech.
Participants painted red tear drops on a carton carpet on the ground, others cried out against the “Israeli apartheid regime and genocide war to exterminate the Palestinians.”
Chants of “Free Palestine”, “Palestine will be free from the River to the sea”, “Israeli terrorists” and “Boycott Israel” echoed around the square where hundreds of thousands pass by every day.
Speakers included Japanese and non-Japanese who applauded the determination of the Gazan people to resist the “Israeli genocide” and occupation.
Banners of Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko were also held aloft demanding they apply more pressure on Israel “to stop its genocide campaign.”
A young Japanese woman told Arab News Japan that it was the first time she had joined in any protest but seeing how people of all ages had gathered and raised their voices for a free Palestine had encouraged her to take part.
A few Israeli sympathizers attempted to disrupt the gathering, but it continued peacefully.
Demonstrations and protests have been increasing around Japan in support of Palestine and condemning American military support of Israel.