ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses reported incidents of excessive force used by law enforcement against protesters and journalists at Henoko and Takae using human rights standards. Incidents of excessive use of force by Kidoutai, as well as arbitrary arrest and detention, followed by problems of fair trials have been reported by the media and civil society organisations, and there have also been reports of the Japan Coast Guard using force in removing protesters at sea. Law enforcement actions, mainly by the Kidoutai and the Coast Guard, have been characterised by questionable arrests, restrictions on freedom of movement seemingly aimed at reducing the scale of protests and the preventing of reporting by journalists. The journalist was wearing the newspaper’s armband and clearly identifiable as a journalist, yet Kidoutai officers grabbed his arms and pushed him for 40 metres into a narrow space between parked Kidoutai vehicles.
