Index > ★The Call Out
9 may 2020 Saturday
14:00 Gather at JR Shinjyuku-station east exit ALTA-square ("ALTA mae hiroba")
14:30 Start the Demonstration march around Shinjyuku
16:00 Return to the square and Speak out by valious activists
Guest speaker Ms.AMEMIYA Karin (author, activist), Mr.OGURA Toshimaru (critic), Mr. SUGIHARA Koji (Network against Japan Arms Trade)、Ms.NANAMI Nami (Anarcha feminism group "Ko-itten"), Ms.FUSE Eriko (Freeter Union) and member of "Committee for save freedom on the load of Shibuya"
17:00 FreeRave!!!!! djmixnoise
Organiser: Mayday for Freedom and Lives 2020
Contact: Freeter union
e-mail:union@freeter-union.org
Phone: 03-6722-0910
A catastrophe of unprecedented scale has begun. The novel coronavirus pandemic is likely to kill tens to hundreds of thousands of people in Japan.
For all of us, our freedom and survival are threatened by the tyranny of the Abe administration and this disaster playing out on a scale that eclipses even the Great East Japan Earthquake.
On April 7th Prime Minister Abe declared a State of Emergency based on the New Influenza Special Measures Act and called for people to exercise “self-restraint” while going out, but at the same time he said nothing about compensation for individuals.
His message is “stay home and don’t spend money.” Also, Governor Koike said the virus was “spreading in night clubs” and called for “self restraint” in the entire mizu-shōbai (nighttime entertainment) sector.
Isn’t this essentially telling us to “drop dead”? If you ask us not to go to work and to exercise self restraint, don’t you also have to compensate us fairly? Furthermore, we are seeing the police use enhanced security measures to enforce all these measures.
Faced with all these drastic social changes many people are distraught and really struggling in their lives. Can you really say this is their “personal responsibility”? There is no such thing!
The State of Emergency does not call for the closure of companies or provide for any workers’ compensation. That means we are supposed to continue riding crowded trains and work weekdays around others as the virus spreads.
Construction on sites for the Tokyo Olympics continues, and construction companies continue to round up workers, putting them at great risk of infection. Many businesses and shops have had to fold due to the prolonged closures.
Ultimately the small and medium sized service sector businesses were cast aside as scapegoats due to the “request for self restraint.” There are those who can work remotely without leaving home. But what about all those who do different kinds of work?
We’ll state it clearly. The goal of the Emergency Declaration is not for us to survive.
It is nothing but genocide, a shitty scheme, a policy of abandonment that accepts a certain number of vulnerable people including the elderly will die as a result of the spread of the virus, but the social security system, including pensions, can continue. Fuck this shit!
“Compensation” subsidies for contract & freelance workers during the school closures initially excluded workers in the sex industry & mizu-shōbai, but the voices of many, including those most directly impacted, led to their inclusion.
This is proof that if we center those most impacted and speak out the policies will change. This is not, however, any indication that the government has overcome its discrimination against the mizu-shōbai and sex industries.
Above all, there have been no revisions to remove political organizations and ethnic groups from being targeted by the Subversive Activities Prevention Law.
In this situation we are exposed to a fierce and violent uptick in the various forms of occupational, ethnic, and other discrimination that have persisted in this society.
We tolerate absolutely no discrimination. We will fight back against any and every instance of discrimination. Stop discrimination!
We demand. Don’t just postpone the Tokyo Olympics. Cancel them! The Olympics, which harm the poor the world over, should be abolished.
For children who have lost their places to learn due to school closures, guarantee their right to learn by implementing online and other learning opportunities.
End discrimination against artists, freelancers, nightclub workers, sex workers, and all professions.
Stop hiding the realities of the novel coronavirus by expanding PCR testing as much as possible so that everyone who wants to be tested can be tested and be transparent about national infection data.
Managers of mizu-shōbai and sex industry businesses must create safe working environments for all workers. Stop pushing bullshit about personal responsibility!
Even in this difficult time when there are limits on going out & we have to protect our own lives, many workers in medical, nursing, & child care, and those who distribute goods & provide vital infrastructure services still go to work.
In order to defeat Abe’s administration, which aims to discriminate against people and select who gets to live, we will take to the streets while being careful about safety and stand firm together in our defiance.
Let’s get together and speak out to bring down this capitalist system that is hell bent on social abandonment and genocide. Let’s get this party started!!!
April 20, 2020, The Executive Committee of Mayday for Freedom and Lives 2020
Mayday for Freedom and Lives 2020