January 27, 2004

China is now celebrating a one-week New Year’s holiday.

But 48 days ago, our member Takayuki Noguchi and the two North Korean refugees, a man and a woman, were arrested by the Chinese authorities. They are still being held in Nanning prison.

Last week, relatives of the female refugee formally asked the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tokyo office of UNHCR to arrange for them to go visit her in the Nanning prison. That request has not yet been granted.

The female refugee has relatives of Japanese nationality, so we at LFNKR prepared a detailed family chart to help urge the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to exert greater efforts to gain the release of both defectors to Japan.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to be considerably more sensitive to comments and attention from abroad and are usually quicker to respond to foreign voices. For that reason, we would like to ask if you would be willing to send them a message urging action (I’ve included a sample message below).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not reveal their email address, but they do provide a simple message form on their Japanese website, where it’s easy to send them an email.

Here’s how:

1. Go to http://www3.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/mail/qa.html – you won’t be able to read the Japanese text on that page, but the form will work perfectly for you.
   
   
2. Starting about midway down the page, you’ll find the form.
   
   
3. In the first box, enter the title of your email (example: Please help get Mr. Noguchi out of China)
   
   
4. The second box is larger, and this is where you post your message. (Easiest way is to copy and paste your note into the box.)
   
   
5. The third blank box is where you can enter your own email address (or you can omit this, if you prefer).
   
   
6. Ignore the remaining 4 lines.
   
   
7. Go to the very bottom of the page where you’ll find 2 buttons.
   The button ON THE LEFT is the SEND button.
   
   
8. DON’T click the button on the right – it erases everything you just typed.
   
   
9. An edit page will come up, giving you the chance to review and change what you wrote.
   To send, click the BOTTOM LEFT button.

And that’s it – 3 boxes, click the SEND button, then click the SEND button again on the next page, and it’s done.

Regards from Japan,
Kenkichi Nakadaira
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees

 

Below is a sample letter You can adapt into your own words

SUBJECT: Please help get Mr. Noguchi out of China

Ms. Junko Kawaguchi
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Dear Ms. Kawaguchi,

I was distressed to learn about the young Japanese man named Takayuki Noguchi who was arrested on Dec. 10 last year together with two North Korean defectors he intended to help.

It distressed me even more to learn that they are all still being detained in Nanning prison. It is now being reported that Mr. Noguchi may be prosecuted and sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison. Why is such a courageous young man, of whom Japan should be very proud, being persecuted like this for his humanitarian and highly principled actions?

I greatly admire his noble will and his brave acts as a humanitarian aid worker. Further, it amazes me that China has the effrontery to continue holding the two defectors, both of whom were born in Japan.

How is it that the Japanese government can take such a long time to gain the release of Mr. Noguchi and the two defectors to Japan? I hope that you will demonstrate for the world that the Japanese government does respect human rights and humanitarianism by dealing with the Chinese government firmly.

I look forward to hearing good news from Japan very soon.

Sincerely yours,

Your name (and country)