Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward to limit parks for use as protest rally starting points

TOKYO -- The Shinjuku Ward Office has unveiled a plan to slash the number of parks that demonstrators can use as a starting point for rallies from the current four to one starting this coming August, calling it -- in part -- a countermeasure against hate speech demonstrations.

The move has raised concerns among ward residents among others, with one of them saying that it could "lead to restrictions on demonstrations as a whole."

The ward office revealed the plan during a session of the ward assembly's environment and construction committee on June 27, saying that the decision was a comprehensive one, made with consideration of hate speech campaigns that have hit the streets in the ward.

Specifically, the ward plans to add a new provision to internal rules for the use of parks as starting points for protest rallies, to the effect that such use is limited to parks that are "not in proximity to schools, educational facilities and shopping districts." Under the rule, the use of three parks in the ward -- Kashiwagi Park, Hanazononishi Park and Nishitoyama Park -- will be banned as starting points for demonstrations starting this August, leaving Shinjuku Chuo Park the only facility for such use.

"We have received requests from local neighborhood associations and shopkeepers' associations that demonstrations be curtailed, as they have been troubled by traffic restrictions and loud noises from protests," said a representative of the ward. The official said the ward's move was made out of consideration for preserving parks' functions as venues for relaxation and interaction among residents and safeguarding the living conditions in surrounding areas.

Shinjuku Ward has seen a number of hate speech demonstrations mainly around the Shin-Okubo district, which is home to many Zainichi Korean residents. Because Shinjuku Chuo Park is about 1.5 kilometers away from the Shin-Okubo area, the ward apparently determined that the new rule would be effective to a certain degree in curbing such campaigns and protecting the living environment.

However, the number of rallies presumed to have involved hate speech stood at six in the ward in fiscal 2015, one in FY2016 and 13 in FY2017, accounting for roughly 10 percent of all demonstrations -- 65 in FY2015, 50 in FY2016 and 77 in FY2017. Kashiwagi Park and Hanazononishi Park served as the starting point of three such protests in FY2015, respectively. The figure stood at one for Kashiwagi Park in FY2016. In FY2017, eight such rallies started from Kashiwagi Park, four from Hanazononishi Park and one from Shinjuku Chuo Park.

At the June 27 ward assembly committee session, members of the Japanese Communist Party and other parties slammed the ward's new policy, with one member saying, "It is hate speech that should be restricted. It is wrong to impose restrictions on all demonstrations," while another complained, "The criteria for the use of parks should be reviewed only after considering ordinances and other rules regulating hate speech."

In response, the ward office underscored the difficulty in dealing with such campaigns, saying, "We have been receiving information from police to carefully respond to hate speech rallies. But it is impossible to reject applications for the use of parks on the grounds of ideologies even if there's a possibility the applicant groups may engage in hate speech."

(Japanese original by Koichi Fukuzawa, Tokyo Bureau)