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Human rights advocates and religious leaders in 10 major cities from New York to Seattle plan a coordinated protest November 16th against the continued inaction by Japanese government to stop the abuse and discrimination of minority religious believers in that country.
Since 1966, more than 4,000 members of the Unification Church of Japan have been illegally confined by “deprogrammers” in an attempt to force them leave the religion which they, as adults, freely chose to join. Currently, 10 to 20 Unificationists in Japan are abducted each year. Victims who escape their captors report the use of force, prison-like conditions, and intense pressure to change his or her faith. There have been reports of beatings, starvation, and rape.
In protest of the Japanese government’s refusal to stop the kidnappings and abuse, 120 human rights leaders and Christian pastors of the American Clergy Leadership Conference gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia last month to demand the end of abusive treatment of religious believers.
The coordinated 10-city protests include:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York
- Portland
- San Francisco
- Seattle
When: The morning of Wednesday, November 16th
Where: The Japanese consulates in the cities listed above
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