Large rally in Tokyo opposes revision of WHO’s COVID health rules ｜Arab News Japan

Arabic News Japan

TOKYO: A united front was presented at Hibiya Park in central Tokyo on Friday as a mass demonstration expressed its strong opposition to the World Health Organization’s revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR), the pandemic treaty on vaccinations against Covid-19.

Member of Parliament HARAGUCHI Kazuhiro, former Minister of Interior and Communications, spoke during the demonstration in a voice full of grief and sadness: “A life has been lost that should not have been lost. As a member of the Sejm, I sincerely apologize to you all.

Keio University professor emeritus KOBAYASHI Setsu commented to Arab News Japan: “As with the vaccine issue, Japanese politicians are increasingly inclined not to inform the public properly, but only to tell us to listen to what they say. As a constitutional scholar when it comes to revising emergency and local government laws, I have felt concerned about the government’s tendency to persuade people to comply with them without saying a word.

The man, who traveled overnight from Kochi Prefecture in western Japan, expressed his personal belief, saying: “I am here to express my opposition as a person who will not blindly follow the government’s directives.”

After the rally, protesters marched through the upscale Ginza shopping district, calling for “opposition to the IHR revision” and demanding that the government investigate the harm caused by the vaccines.