THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 7, 2022 at 17:35 JST
Apparent members of YamatoQ protest the COVID-19 vaccine program in Yokohama on Jan. 23. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Tokyo police on April 7 arrested four members of an anti-vaccine, conspiracy group on suspicion of unlawful entry at a health care clinic that has been providing shots against COVID-19.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the four suspects belong to YamatoQ, a group that reportedly calls itself the Japanese wing of U.S. conspiracy cult QAnon.
The four broke into the clinic in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on the morning of April 7, according to investigative sources.
YamatoQ has been waging an opposition campaign against the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and Tokyo police said they have gathered information on the group.
The group said on its website that it has organized synchronized anti-vaccination rallies in Tokyo, Sapporo and cities in Kanagawa and Fukuoka prefectures.
Its website also spreads misinformation. It says, for example, that “the coronavirus itself does not exist” and “the vaccinations are part of plans to decrease the population.”
“The vaccine contains an infection source, a seed of a disease that generates a harmful effect on the body,” the site says.
YamatoQ supports former U.S. President Donald Trump, much like QAnon, which is believed to have led the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year.
The Japanese group’s website claims that Trump “saved many children” but “the fact has never been reported in Japan.”
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