Three activists who distributed anti-war fliers at a Self-Defense Forces housing facility were found guilty of trespassing Friday in a court ruling certain to fuel debate on freedom of expression.
The Tokyo High Court overturned a lower court ruling and imposed fines of 100,000 yen and 200,000 yen on the defendants--Nobuhiro Onishi, 32, Sachimi Takada, 32, and Toshiyuki Obora, 48.
The three are members of a group called Tachikawa Jieitai Kanshi Tento Mura (Tachikawa SDF monitoring tent village). They were arrested in February last year and detained for 75 days after distributing fliers in the SDF housing facility in Tachikawa, Tokyo, urging SDF members and their families to oppose the dispatch to Iraq.
The defendants argued that they were exercising their constitutional right to express a political point of view.
The high court rejected that argument, but fined them instead of imposing the six-month prison terms requested by prosecutors.
"Even though (the right of) expressing their political opinions by distributing fliers is assured, that does not mean they can enter (the facility) against the manager's will," Presiding Judge Taketaka Nakagawa said.
The defendants immediately appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
"What is the difference between ordinary commercial ads and our anti-war fliers?" Obora, an employee at a public elementary school, asked reporters. "Today's ruling failed to clarify which parts (of our fliers) led to the arrests."
Takada said, "This is like delivering the final blow to Japan's democracy."
The Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court in December last year ruled that the defendants' distribution of fliers should be considered an act of political expression guaranteed under the Constitution.
The branch also said that although the defendants might have been trespassing, their action did not warrant punishment because opposition to the fliers was so light.
"The protest was personally made by only one resident. Therefore, it cannot be said to be the unified opinion of all the residents there," according to the lower court ruling.
But the high court rejected the lower court's view that the damage caused by the defendants was "extremely minor."
The high court emphasized that the facility contained a sign banning unauthorized people from entering the site. It also disagreed with the lower court's description of the sign as "inconspicuous."
The activists entered the housing facility on Jan. 17, 2004, to place fliers opposed to the SDF dispatch.
Two members on Feb. 22 went door-to-door there to distribute another anti-war flier.
The three were arrested in late February by Tokyo police and detained for more than two months.
In late 2003, the manager of the SDF housing complex instructed residents to call police if they saw someone distributing fliers criticizing the SDF.
However, people distributing commercial ads or going door-to-door to ask residents to join religious groups continued to be a common sight there.
Defense lawyer Hirotatsu Kojima told reporters: "The judiciary is putting growing importance on maintaining public order. The ruling lacks a viewpoint of nurturing democracy through frank discussions."(IHT/Asahi: December 9,2005)
ASAHI WEEKLY