(Clearwisdom.net) The Human Rights Torch Relay, initiated by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, (CIPFG) arrived in Tokyo Japan on June 18. From Tokyo, the relay traveled to Nagano, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, then on to Korea. During the relay events in the six cities of Japan, local council members, university teachers, NGO representatives, and Chinese people in Japan made speeches calling for an end to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong and for the human rights of Chinese people.

All Circles Condemn CCP Atrocities

At the Tokyo rally, former parliament member Mr. Nakatsugawa, a long time supporter of Falun Gong, strongly condemned the CCP's trampling of human rights. He said, "Everyone knows about the CCP's persecution of Tibetans, Christians and other groups. But the most horrible among all the suppressions is the persecution of Falun Gong. In modern society, CCP doctors are conducting live organ removals!" He said, "The CCP is not qualified to host the Olympics while continuing the persecution of Falun Gong."

During the Osaka rally, Mr. Ihira Yoshimura, from the Association of Great Harmony, said in his speech, "Communism is a cancer of humankind. If the cancer cells grow, our body and life will die. If communism grows, not only peace, but also human beings will become extinct. Communism is thus terrorism. We cannot allow it to grow. I believe a real China can be restored along with the efforts of Falun Gong practitioners."

Mr. Ryozou Ishibashi, a member of the Hiroshima County Council, said in his speech, "The persecution that Falun Gong practitioners are suffering is beyond our imagination. The brutal human rights persecution in China has become known around the world through the Internet."

Professor Sadakane Haruo of Kumamoto Shokei College has visited China more than twenty times. He condemned the CCP's human rights violations and the persecution. He pointed out his surprise at the bloody persecution of the student democratic movement in 1989 and the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. But even with such human rights violations, the CCP is hosting the Olympics. He said he agreed with the mission of the Human Rights Torch Relay, which calls for an end to the CCP's human rights persecution before the Olympics.

Ando Kan, deputy director of CIPFG Asian Delegation, experienced the persecution personally. He traveled to the six cities along with the torch relay and passed along the torch in each city. He pointed out, "The CCP brainwashes people with violence and lies in an attempt to change people's thinking and not tolerate any other belief. The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, Christians, and Buddhists indicates that the CCP is an evil cult."

He said he knows that the CCP regime's maintaining power by suppressing people cannot last long. He said, "In the torch relay in Japan, more and more people have come to know the brutality of the CCP's human rights violations. They join the torch relay run or applaud the running procession to support the event." He said in confidence that the success of the global human rights torch relay indicates the end of the persecution of human rights in the near future.

Human Rights Torch Relay Captures the Attention of Japanese Media

Before the torch arrived at Nagoya on June 25, Chūnichi Shinbun, the largest media in mid-Japan, reported the story of a local Falun Gong practitioner and his speech exposing the CCP police's unlawful detention of his mother, a Falun Gong practitioner. The Mainichi Newspapers, one of the three main newspapers in Japan, covered the torch relay in its local news page.

On June 28, when the torch arrived in Hiroshima, a local TV station covered the torch relay in the city.

The torch relay has passed through more than 120 cities in thirty-five countries and regions in five continents. The next stop is Korea on July 2, followed by Macau on July 18. The final stop is Hong Kong on July 20.