
The state of civic space in Japan was upgraded to ‘open’ by the CIVICUS Monitor in December 2024 as civil society groups were able to undertake their work across the country without barriers, and peaceful protesters were also able to exercise their rights in most cases without restrictions. At the same time there are concerns about restrictions on press freedom and censorship, and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community has been documented. The government has also imposed tougher penalties for criminal defamation. Further, a draft law on the establishment of a human rights commission has been pending since 2012.
On 1st October 2024, Shigeru Ishiba was installed as Japan’s new prime minister after he won the race to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP). Following his win, he called for a snap election of the parliament’s lower house on 27th October in an attempt to consolidate his mandate.
However, the ruling coalition of the LDP and New Komeito lost the overwhelming majority it had held since the 2012 general election. The ruling coalition obtained only 215 seats, 18 seats short of a majority. Nevertheless, Japanese legislators on 11th November, voted for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to stay on in a fragile minority government.
In recent months, an Okinawan activist was detained for a protest at a US Consulate event against US bases while another mass protest was held in Okinawa to demand an apology from the US military over sexual assault cases by military personnel. There was a protest in Osaka against eviction of the homeless from a former welfare centre while workers at a flagship Seibu store in Tokyo held a protest against its sale. Multiple anti-war protests in support of Palestine were also documented.
Peaceful Assembly
Okinawan activist detained for protest at US Consulate event
The Okinawa police arrested the prominent anti-U.S. base activist Akino Miyagi on Friday evening for trespassing at a hotel, where an Independence Day ceremony was being held by the U.S. Consulate Okinawa.
— 🇵🇸🇯🇵Thoton Akimoto (@AkimotoThn) September 9, 2024
Miyagi was reportedly carrying a metal object that the police officers… pic.twitter.com/gyHw9efTje
In September 2024, police arrested an activist in Okinawa, alleging she interrupted a US Consulate event at a Chatan hotel. Prosecutors are seeking a four-year jail sentence with a verdict due in March 2025.
Akino Miyagi, who opposes the presence of US bases on Okinawa Island and sexual violence by US service personnel, appeared at the Independence Day event sponsored by the US Consulate in Naha. According to reports, she was allegedly carrying a metal object and shouted “U.S. military grenade!” in front of the ballroom. According to Miyagi, she had carried an unexploded ordnance from the Yanbaru World Natural Heritage Site to protest against U.S. military waste in the area. Miyagi was taken into custody on suspicion of breaking into the hotel without just cause.
Akino Miyagi lives near the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Camp Gonsalves, Okinawa. She is opposed to the US Marines desecrating the fragile jungle environment located entirely within the protected Yanbaru National Park in northern Okinawa. Akino collects waste from areas of the base that have been returned to the prefecture by the Marines. She has also documented radioactive waste, unexploded ordinance, (UXO), and various hazardous materials littered throughout the area. Akino has been arrested and taken to court for various protests to publicise the US military’s waste.
In recent months, she has focused her activism on sexual assaults on Japanese women by US servicemen in Okinawa.
Protesters in Okinawa demand apology from US military over sexual assault case
In December 2024, hundreds of people held demonstrations in Okinawa seeking apology from the US military over a sexual assault case involving a serviceman.
Governor Tamaki Denny was among the crowd of some 2,500 people in the southernmost Okinawa province where the protests were held. They protesters demanded the US military apologise and compensate a victim of a sexual assault case from a year ago.
Okinawa hosts 31 US military-exclusive facilities covering 70.3 percent of such sites nationwide by land area and is home to roughly half of the 50,000 US troops deployed in Japan under a bilateral security pact. According to Anadolu Agency, there were 118 criminal cases involving US military personnel in Japan in 2023 and, of those, 72, or 61 percent were committed in Okinawa.
Brennon Washington, a 25-year-old US serviceman from the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, was sentenced to five years in jail for abducting and sexually assaulting a girl under 16 at his residence in December 2023.
Protest against eviction of homeless from former welfare centre
Tensions escalated in Osaka, Japan, when police and court officials tried to evict people at a homeless shelter and former labor welfare center. Police disrupted the soup kitchen while supporters of the homeless rushed to the barricades set up at the premises. pic.twitter.com/OnxVfWYlJE
— red. (@redstreamnet) December 2, 2024
In December 2024, supporters of homeless individuals protested against police and court officials enforcing an eviction order at a former labour welfare centre in the Airin district of the city of Osaka’s Nishinari Ward.
The enforcement by some 500 government officials and law enforcement agents in riot gear began at around 7 a.m., with Osaka District Court officials instructing individuals camping around the facility to vacate the premises. Officers from the Osaka Prefectural Police were also present to provide security.
Supporters of the homeless rushed to barricades set up at the premises and tried to block the police. Supporters criticised the eviction as a violation of human dignity and demanded the removal of barricades erected by the authorities. A man with a megaphone was heard shouting, "Day labourers live here. This city is built on the money that they spend.”
The centre, established in 1970, had served as a hub for welfare support and job placement, and primarily catered to day labourers. It was closed in 2019 to undergo reconstruction due to concerns about its ability to withstand a large-scale earthquake. Following its closure, homeless individuals began setting up makeshift shelters near the centre’s shuttered entrance using items such as tarps and bedding. Afterwards, the centre was fenced off with barriers more than three metres high to prevent people from coming back.
Osaka Prefecture, which owns the land, filed a lawsuit to evict the individuals. Lower courts sided with the prefecture in rulings in 2021 and 2022. In May 2024, the Supreme Court upheld these decisions, finalising the eviction order.
The timing suggests the authorities intend to empty the area ahead of the Expo 2025 in Osaka, from April to October 2025.
Workers at flagship Seibu store protest against sale
In November 2024, workers at a major Tokyo department store went on strike after talks with management over the planned sale of their company broke down, marking the first major walkout the country has seen in decades.
Some 900 workers at the flagship Seibu store in the bustling district of Ikebukuro are protesting against the planned sale of their company Sogo & Seibu, a unit of retail giant Seven & i, to US fund Fortress Investment Group. They are seeking job and business continuity guarantees.
Strikes are extremely rare in Japan, where negotiations over wages and working conditions are typically agreed amicably. This one-day strike – the first at a major Japanese department store in 61 years – followed months of negotiations between Sogo & Seibu management and the workers’ union.
Multiple anti- war protests in support of Palestine
浅草 スタンディング
— asadori_Qly (@AsadoriQ) January 17, 2025
イスラエルはパレスチナのジェノサイドをやめろ
A protest against Israel's genocide in Gaza and its ongoing illegal occupation of Palestinian land, held 17 January, outside Asakusa Station, Tokyo. #FreePalestine #NetanyahuWanted #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya pic.twitter.com/TZb6Sc7IaA
Multiple pro-Palestinian protests were documented across Japan in recent months.
On 4th September 2024 activists rallied outside the Robotics Society of Japan Conference to protest the military use of robots and the event’s sponsorship by companies that support genocide. On 12th September, activists staged a sit-in protest outside the headquarters of Sumitomo Corp. in Tokyo, rejecting the company's project to import Israeli drones.
In October 2024, activists gathered in front of a US naval base in Yokosuka, chanting "Free Palestine" to protest US support for Israel's military actions in Gaza. In December 2024, activists protested in front of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Headquarters in Tokyo over Israeli drones. On 2nd January 2025, pro-Palestinian students protested outside the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, over Israel’s genocide in Gaza.