Around 150 people including asylum applicants, lawyers and supporters gathered Saturday in a park in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, to protest the forced detention and deportation of people seeking asylum.
The Tanabata Campaign, cohosted by the 1435 Rainbow Bridge Committee and Amnesty International Japan, took its theme from the July 7 Star Festival, which celebrates the annual reunion of two lovers on that day.
Lawyer Kanae Doi, one of the event's representatives, said this theme was chosen to highlight the plight of asylum applicants and immigrants in Japan who have been separated from their families due to detention or deportation.