FreeHoshino! #188
Success of 11.23 Hoshino Retrial National Rally and 2.5 Tokushima Prison Gherao in last year allowed us to leap forward on Hoshino struggle. Let us save Fumiaki Hoshino through nationwide Discovery Evidence Movement in 2013! Hoshino said, "The fight to change the world and the fight to regain Hoshino became one." in the meeting with his wife Akiko Hoshino in last December. The 3.11 disaster in Fukushima and the great depression are inducting explosion on the workers' survival as well as the efforts to save Hoshino. The prosecutor has the evidence of Hoshino's innocence. If they disclose the evidences, innocence of Hoshino will become clear. Hoshino was concocted as a murder in the movement against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1970 in Okinawa. Japanese government said that they did not sign a secret agreement. However, it was proved on the disclosure by American government in 2000. It is unforgivable conduct by the authority. The number of supporting people to our campaign for disclosing the cover-up evidences has already exceeded 710. 250 of them are lawyers. Let's spread words about this movement to organizations and group of people in the union in order to collect signatures.
Mr. Taro Yamamoto, famous as an actor, ran for the general election from Suginami constituency in Tokyo in December. He has been appealing to eliminating nuclear power plants which has been a confrontation with the Liberal Democratic Party, and the family of the former Tokyo Governor Ishihara. Suginami ward is the starting point of a signature movement of anti-nuclear power plants. He is taking his life upon the movement of anti- nuclear power, and it influenced a lot of people who now gathered at JR Ogikubo station in the evening of the 14th and at Kouenji station on the 15th in December. The excitement of more than 70,000 people in favor for Mr. Yamamoto became an explosion of the fight in the election. The press reported it as "People's will to anti-nuclear" and "Chasing the Ishihara away". Yamamoto's campaign office requested our Free Hoshino committee office to support the election. We cooperated together appealing our people of Free Hoshino groups across the country. Many young people of non-regular workers ran to each office with sleeping bags. There was a series of drama beyond the election to produce the uprising of the individual to seek unity.
180 people visited in four days. Many people said, "The paintings seemed so sweet." One water color painting lover was pleased to find that Fumiaki was very good at how to use soft-colors. The FumiAkiko Calendars of the next year have sold 28 copies at the exhibition. On the 16th, Chieko Shiina who strives eliminating nuclear power plants in Fukushima came to the exhibition, and met Akiko Hoshino. In that meeting, many people listened Chieko and Akiko's stories about their struggles. Akiko talked about her recent visitation of Tokushima prison for meeting Fumiaki. She also spoke about how Fumiaki and Akiko got to know each other, why she got married to Fumiaki, and the long, twenty six years of activity for Fumiaki. Most of the subjects were shocking for the participants, and they seemed to empathize Hoshino and Akiko. Chieko Shinna spoke passionately to regain Hoshino. She has reported about the reality of Fukushima now and their new project "Fukushima joint clinic". Okinawa and Fukushima has become mutual issue in this exhibition: it was a great success. It was the second time to hold the exhibition in Kanagawa. The members of Free Hoshino Committee in Kanagawa started the signature campaign to hold the exhibition. The success of the meeting of All Japan Rally for Free Hoshino on November 23 was a big step for this exhibition. There were significant meetings among a lot of people to talk about the anger to the prosecution in the court, which led the people to collect signatures of friends and acquaintances. However, the reality is that not enough people know about "Hoshino retrial". We believe that we need to spread more and more words through the events such as this exhibition. Let's regain Fumiaki Hoshino through the movement! (Hiroshi Nonaka)
It was a cold day on December 10. Fumiaki has to have very cold days without a heater for a few months. He looked fine when we met. "Is using a pocket warmer(kairo) allowed?" I asked. I read in a letter from Fumiaki that the prison would open up the use of a disposable body warmer. "They said that you would be permitted to purchase the warmer if it is necessary". The FumiAkiko Calendar was supposed to be reached to Fumiaki on the day. The prison once said that a calendar was one of dangerous items putting in prisons, and I used to stick each edge of sheets of paper together with glue to disguise calendar, but they peeled it away and did not hand it to Fumiaki. But this time I used spray glue, which is stronger than the paste type, and according to Fumiaki, the detention officer confessed that he was outdone in patience. I said, "To me regaining you and the changing the world into better is two things at one. If I am focusing on only one thing, I become stuck. Then Fumiaki answered, "Yes, you are right. We should do this along with something else for other people. It is motivating us by knowing that helping labors is to open their future." I mentioned about Taro Yamamoto's candidacy. Fumiaki knows about it from the daily reading of the newspaper. "He has been doing well. There were people who started anti-nuclear activity movement by the influence of Taro Yamamoto," said Fumiaki, "thanks to this situation, it became easier to spread our joint activities to disclose the covered-up evidences. Fumiaki enjoyed listening to my report about the 11.23 Free Hoshino meeting. He already wrote to me that he was glad to have a letter from Ms. Yoko Aoyagi from Sendai city. (who?) I was also impressed by the comments from Mr. Won Jun Kim. (who?) He was also moved that the photograher Koushiro Ootsu remembered Fumiaki's college time and said that Fumiaki was a person of courage when he was a student. We've been Winning for Thirty Eight Years On Decmeber 11, the second day at the prison, we talked about the calendar which finally reached Fumiaki. He was happy with this year's Akiko poem and paintings by himself on the calendar. We discussed about its coloring in detail. The next day was our last meeting of the year. We talked about the painting that Fumiaki titled "Palestine, Change the Grief into Brighter Future!" He was inspired by a picture of "DAYS JAPAN", which Ms. Yoshiko Ito of Kyoto sent to Fumiaki. Fumiaki said "In the base of my activities, I thought of the world in which all the children are able to bloom thier potentials of making a better society through their inborn gifts. I am looking forward to your next poem for this picture. " Last of all, we exchanged each other's this year's impressions. "This year was significant to me that I feel that I spent several years. Most of my pleased matter came from your comments saying my 38 years in prison and our 26 years of marriage are not for public flogging, but it has been progressive to our victory in these years. It was so much encouraging, not only for me, but also for other people like Fukushima people and non-regular employees. We earned something that is most important as human beings in facing the extremely difficult tasks for the future. Thanks to Akiko's help spreading my words, and speak to people here and there, I feel increasingly confident about possibilities of our future." With this, our last meeting of the year ended. |
