(Clearwisdom.net) Editor's note: Yuko Kaneko, 38 years old, was born in Heilongjiang Province, China. After marrying Japanese citizen Mr. Atsushi Kaneko she migrated to Niigata Sado, Japan. Yuko Kaneko was very distressed to see the Jiang Regime's persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners. On May 24, 2002, Yuko Kaneko was illegally arrested by the Chinese police when she was handing out Falun Dafa materials on the streets of Beijing. She is still held in custody.
The following are translations of the two letters of appeal written by Yuko Kaneko's husband Mr. Atsushi Kaneko.
(1) I am Yuko Kaneko's husband.
It has been 22 days since Yuko Kaneko's arrest. I do not know where she has been since May 25. I have asked the Chinese Section of the Japanese Foreign Ministry to raise the issue with the Chinese government to find my wife. However, the Chinese government gave no response whatsoever. After my repeated requests, the Chinese government finally sent a fax to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. However, the fax only confirmed to the Japanese Foreign Ministry the fact that my wife had been arrested. Up to now I still have no knowledge of her present situation.
In that fax, the Chinese government said that it had notified my wife's parents about her arrest, but I learned on June 15 that her parents had not received any notice. My wife's family members in China learned from the local police that she had been on hunger strike ever since her arrest.
Now, those who are helping to rescue Yuko Kaneko and I are all trying our best in hopes that she can be released at an earlier date. I am longing to see my wife as soon as possible. I have made the request to the Chinese government through the Japanese Foreign Ministry. However, the Chinese government has turned a deaf ear to it. I felt so hopeless after my own effort did not seem to work, so I asked the Japanese Foreign Ministry for help again in requesting to see my wife.
Atsushi Kaneko
6/15/2002
(2) My name is Atsushi Kaneko. I am 47 years old. I am a clerk of a company.
My wife and I got to know each other and married in China in April 1999. Now we live with my grandma and mother in Niigata Sado.
On the morning of May 20, my wife left for China. At that time I had never thought this [her arrest] would happen. My wife started to practice Falun Gong five years ago in China. I tried Falun Gong myself and found it to be very good.
Before my wife left for China she told the family that she would stay in China for about 20 days. She said she would return home after making an inquiry about opening a Japanese language school in the city of Shenyang. It's true that my wife felt distressed to see the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners getting worse in China.
It has been 35 days since my wife's arrest on May 24. I approached the Chinese government through the Japanese Ministry. On June 13, I was told that my wife was held in Haidian Police Department in Beijing. However, there is no way to confirm the news so I am still worried about my wife's safety.
Upon hearing the news, my mother's health condition became so bad that she is now bedridden. My 89-year-old grandma is praying every day, hoping for Yuko's safe return .
From the two Japanese Falun Dafa practitioners who were forcibly sent back from China, I learned more about the atrocities committed in that country. This has made me really feel the chilling fact that over 400 Falun Dafa practitioners have been tortured to death.
On June 13, I asked the Japanese Foreign Ministry to raise the issue with the Chinese government. However, on June 28, the reply I got from the Japanese Foreign Ministry only said, "The ministry raised the issue with the Chinese government on June 27." I felt bitterly disappointed.
Living in the rural area of Niigata, I have neither the means nor the power to deal with the situation, so I wrote this article and hope the power of all those who read it and the appeal of the Japanese people would help to bring about a safe return of Yuko Kaneko. Facing the crisis, my determination is growing stronger.
Atsushi Kaneko
07/03/02
Category: April 25 Events
