Hong Kong activists deny trespassing over Nanking massacre protest at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine
- Lawyers for Alex Kwok and Yim Man-wa argue act of burning tablet condemning war criminal is protected by country’s freedom of speech
- Shinto shrine honouring controversial Japanese war figures has led to frayed ties with Asian neighbours
Alex Kwok Siu-kit and Yim Man-wa, of the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, were arrested in Japan on suspicion of starting a fire inside Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which has been at the centre of the country’s frayed relationship with its Asian neighbours.
According to submissions made by their lawyers, Kwok and Yim were arrested on suspicion of trespassing, and were detained by police last Wednesday. They had not been formally charged.
Quoting the pair’s lawyers last week, Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin said Kwok could be charged with arson – an offence punishable by a life sentence in Japan.
But there was no mention of arson in the lawyers’ submission on Wednesday. Keiichiro Ichinose and Naohiko Hasegawa argued that their clients were not guilty of trespassing.
The lawyers said the activists should be released because freedom of speech and all other forms of expression were guaranteed under Article 21 of the Japanese constitution.
They also noted that Kwok’s early morning protest was not intended to attract the attention of a large crowd or to affect others.
“His action cannot be unlawful. Even if it was, it was only minor,” the submission read.