Japanese animal rights activists caught by police

From facebook page of Fukushima nuclear power plant animals.

 This is an article on HOSHI's arrest published on March 3rd Sun 2013 in the news paper the Australian. 


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It’s a dog’s life for activist jailed for rescuing pets in nuke zone

‘The state says I have committed a crime, but I believe I have done the right thing’ HIROSHI HOSHI ANIMAL RESCUER

A JAPANESE animal rights activist who has been conducting missions to rescue abandoned pets within the Fukushima exclusion zone has been arrested and kept in a police cell for more than one month.

Hiroshi Hoshi and his son, Leo Hoshi, were arrested by police on January 28 and taken into custody for illegally entering the 20km zone around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Supporters of Mr Hoshi have called his detention — in a cell shared with other prisoners — a breach of human rights and are urging Japanese police and prosecutors to release him and his son from captivity.

In a note to supporters sent from inside the Nihonmatsu police station in Fukushima prefecture, Mr Hoshi said he was the victim of government harassment for bringing the problem of abandoned animals to public attention.

‘‘It has been 22 days since I was put in a prison cell. I presume the state’s aim is to hold me until midApril, when this matter is expected to come to a head,’’ he said.

‘‘I think this is a dirty trick that they are playing. Most of all, I feel sorry for my wife, who is left alone.’’

In June 2011, about three months after the earthquake and nuclear accident, The Australian reported that Mr Hoshi had successfully entered the exclusion zone to rescue two dogs seen wandering right outside the plant on a web cam installed on the perimeter of the plant, 250km north of Tokyo.

His efforts in collecting animals abandoned during the evacuation of the almost 100,000 residents from the area garnered him and his supporters much publicity, and highlighted the lack of effort from authorities in tackling this issue.

Mr Hoshi said he had been cooperating with the police investigation — and he admits to the facts of the charges — but he was still being denied his freedom and access to his wife and a lawyer.

‘‘The state says I have committed a crime, but I believe that I have done the right thing,’’ he said.

‘‘For the last two years I have been wholeheartedly committed to rescuing animals. However, the state has labelled my activity as a crime, and hence I was arrested.

‘‘I have been segregated from all outside contacts, denied access to legal counsel, and I wasn’t even allowed to write to my wife.’’

Mr Hoshi and his son — who are being kept in separate police lock-ups — were charged with illegal entry into the exclusion zone and forging paperwork to allow them to pass police roadblocks.

Japanese law allows for suspects to be detained for more than 20 days without charge and it can be difficult to secure bail once charged.

Since April 2011, the Hoshi family and their supporters have conducted more than 150 missions into the zone to rescue many dogs and cats and to feed other abandoned animals. In his letter, Mr Hoshi accused police of setting out to bankrupt his family-run auto supplies business to curtail his animal rights activities.

‘‘The state confiscated 30 items of my belongings, including computers, to drive my business into bankruptcy and stop my funding,’’ he said. ‘‘Because of that I cannot operate with my business at all.’’

Mr Hoshi, who comes from Fukushima but has been living in Tokyo, fell into his animal rights work by accident when he and his son agreed they had to act after watching a news bulletin about the plight of abandoned animals soon after the March 11, 2011, disaster. The area around the nuclear plant was home to numerous small farms with cattle, pigs, chickens and other animals. Livestock and pets were left to starve amid radioactive fallout when residents were ordered out of the area.

In 2011, Mr Hoshi said he had seen some dogs in the area become cannibals, feasting on the corpses of their deceased brethren out of hunger. The dogs that his group, the Hachiko Coalition, rescue are assessed by vets and then placed with volunteers who want to provide them with new homes.

Ruriko Yoshida, a friend of the Hoshis who has helped them with their rescues, said authorities were trying to minimise attention on the situation in Fukushima in the lead up to the second anniversary on March 11.

‘‘I think it’s about intimidating other animal rescuers,’’ she told The Australian.

‘‘The Japanese government doesn’t want the world to see that they have abandoned the animals within the exclusion zone.’’

Almost all livestock within the exclusion zone have died, with the exception of those cared for by the lone ‘‘holdout’’ — farmer Naoto Matsumura, who has refused to leave his property.

But Ms Yoshida said Mr Hoshi estimated there were still as many as 3000 pets within the zone. They are mostly cats, which have been breeding steadily despite the lack of prepared food available.

Mr Hoshi’s wife, Hiromi, said her husband had no regrets but had told her to get his story out as best she could.

‘‘He wants justice and he wants everyone to know what’s going on,’’ she said.