Anti-Nuclear Movement Radicalizing? A Man Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Stab Self in Protest in Tokyo

There were rumors of agitators at the June 29 protest at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo where a great number of people (between 17,000 and 200,000, depending on who you ask) gathered to protest the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant. There were also rumors of certain people behind the protest (certain large PR agency in Japan, for example).

Recently, there have been people who strongly advocate violence as a way to attract more attention to their anti-nuclear (or anti-Noda administration) causes. There are also people on Twitter who seek to remove certain "elements" from the protest (one of their target seems to be Mr. Kouta Kinoshita and his followers, for some reason). There are rumors that some of the organizers of the Tokyo protest are in favor of accepting and burning the disaster debris that are contaminated with radioactive materials.

Now, what may be a sign of radicalization is happening. Yomiuri Shinbun reports that a man was arrested on July 1 for trying to stab himself in protest against the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (7/5/2012):

抗議のため自分刺そうと…反原発デモ中にナイフ

Knife-wielding man during the ant-nuclear protest, to stab himself in protest

東京都千代田区の官邸前で行われた関西電力大飯原子力発電所（福井県）の再稼働に反対する抗議活動中に、ナイフを不法所持したとして、警視庁が今月１日、デモに参加した男を銃刀法違反（所持）容疑で現行犯逮捕していたことが、捜査関係者への取材でわかった。男は黙秘している。

It has been revealed by talking to persons whose duties involve investigation that the Metropolitan Police arrested a man on July 1 on suspicion of violation of the Swords and Firearms Control Law (illegal possession of a knife) on the scene of the protest against the restart of KEPCO Ooi Nuclear Power Plant in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. The man is exercising the right to remain silent.

捜査関係者によると、男は今月１日夕、官邸前でバッグから果物ナイフを取り出したところを機動隊員に取り押さえられた。男はこの時、「抗議のために自分を刺そうと思った」と説明していたという。

According to our source, the man took out a fruit knife from the bag in front of the PM Official Residence in the evening of July 1. The riot police subdued him. The man allegedly said at that time, "I was going to stab myself in protest."

If such a thing actually happens, I think it will instantly turn off the majority of people protesting. This man could be a plant to split up the opposition to the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant, to nuclear power in general and to the Noda administration. He could well be genuinely frustrated enough to do what he said he wanted to do.

Protests being split up is not necessarily a bad thing, tweets this seasoned veteran on protests:

やがて一部の元気すぎる若者たちが先鋭化し、直接的な行動に出ることは避けられません。東電や民主党の幹部が襲われる事態が必ず来るでしょう。彼らを過激派として排除する人も出て運動は四分五裂するのです。しかし、それでよい。運動は分裂して、たくさんの意思と多くの様式で進むべきなのです

It is inevitable that some young people with too much energy get radicalized soon and resort to direct action. There will be cases where the senior members of TEPCO and Democratic Party of Japan are attacked. There will be people who will call these young people radicals and exclude them from the movement, which will then split into pieces. But that is OK. The movement should split up, and proceed with many, different intentions [or purposes] and in various formats.

We'll see. I am still hoping that Japan, having always been very good at adopting foreign ideas and products and improving on them, can somehow improve the way the "revolution" progresses, if it is a revolution they want.

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