TOKYO: Gaza sympathizers and supporters gathered in the crowded Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan on Saturday to honor the lost lives of around 15000 Palestinians – many of them children and babies, killed by the Israeli military occupation.
Arab News citied one of the gathering organizers as saying, “Our tears continue as we honor them all,”.
Participants painted red tear drops on a box carpet on the ground, others chanted slogans against the “Israeli apartheid government and genocide war to exterminate the people of Palestine.”
Chants of “Palestine will be free from the River to the sea”, “Free Palestine”, “Boycott Israel” and “Israeli terrorists” echoed around the square in Tokyo.
Speakers included non-Japanese and Japanese who applauded the determination of the people of Gaza to resist the occupation and “Israeli genocide”.
“Tears for Gaza” Attracts Crowds in Japan
Banners of Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko were also held aloft demanding they should press Israel “to stop its genocide drive” against the innocent people of Palestine.
A young Japanese lady told Arab News that it was the first time that she joined any demonstration but seeing how people of all ages had assembled and also raised their voices for a free Palestine. She added that these efforts had encouraged her to attend the protest.
According to Arab News, a few pro-Israeli elements tried to disrupt the gathering, but it continued calmly.
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Protests and demonstrations have been increasing across Japan in support of Palestine and also condemning US military help of Israel.
Similarly, in a powerful display of solidarity with the people of Palestine, tens of thousands of protesters also gathered in London on Saturday, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The demonstration, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War, marks the latest in a series of large pro-Palestinian gatherings in the UK since the October 7.
Protesters, carrying pro-Palestinian banners and chanting slogans, marched through central London, culminating their demonstration at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. One demonstrator, Alaa Hassan, a 24-year-old wellbeing practitioner, emphasized the need for a comprehensive ceasefire, stating, “The Israeli occupation needs to end. We need a full ceasefire and not a temporary four-day ceasefire.”
