It is hard to understand how in the Oct. 16 article "Hundreds turn out to Occupy Tokyo," a reporter could write: "In addition to decrying the widening wealth gap between the nation's haves and have-nots, demonstrators spoke out on a variety of unrelated topics ranging from nuclear power to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a free-trade pact promoted by the U.S."
It shows the basic lack of understanding of what the Occupy movements are all about.
People are of course protesting for a variety of reasons, but at the heart is that they feel their governments are not working for them but rather for large corporations and special interest groups, with one result being a widening of the income gap globally.
Nuclear power and the TPP are also examples of the Japanese government not having a dialogue with the people and rather only focusing on short-term economic growth, regardless of the long-term consequences for future generations, the environment and working people. The needs of industry are put ahead of all others, despite the concerns of a large part of the population.
How are these issues unrelated?
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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