A couple of months ago, Seiya Kitazawa, a 15 years old net-activist, aka “Noel” worked hard at AfreecaTV (one of the relatively free chat-streaming sites). He had a unique style of independent live transmission with his white half mask and carrying his laptop just like a “cigarette girl” in the old American movie theater and transmits his talks and live movie images at various spaces. However, he met a lot of reactions from mass media and reactionary chatters because he was “too forward” and didn’t mind familiar-Japanese manner and censorship. His transmission is not sophisticated but critically “alienated” the contradictions of Japanese mainstream media and alleged “democracy”.
Apparently, they leaked his allegedly “illegal” (against the broadcasting regulations and socialized manner) behavior to the police. So, when he transmit his DIY program in Fukushima at the 3 years anniversary, police officers tried to stop him and even tried to take him to the police station. As he continued his interesting attempts, mass media tried to scandalously report his work.
As soon as he started his transmission, the police came and challenged him “what are you doing here?” He insisted on his freedom of speech and citizen right. But on the 29th of April when he started using a drone photographing cities from the sky, criticism against him escalated dramatically. And finally he was arrested at his home in the midnight of 21st of May 2015.
[The fact is more complicated, but I can show the examples of mass-circulated English paper in Japan.]
What is the suspicion against him? The police argued that he “planed using his drone at the traditional festival in Asakusa, Tokyo which was to be held on the very day and it had a possibility to disturb the festival business. Kitazawa didn’t plan such a thing and said definitely that he was probably just streaming from Asakusa. Usually, it would be impossible for the police to prosecute him. But they are very eager to do so.
The timing is bad because the Abe government has been trying to force establishing a special law for using drone. Don’t mix up with the similar attempts of the other countries. For instance, in the US, the possible regulation is to be for the commercial use of drone: the hobby use is not be the aim. But in Japan, the government tries to prohibit the use of drone without licenses and to control everything.
Coincidently, there was a strange incident that a middle-aged guy had tried a drone demonstration against the Abe administration. The government argued it as the terrorist attack. But according to some speculation, this incident might be a put-up job to legitimate the law, though.
Kitazawa has been never “political” nor declared any ideological messages against the government policy. He just tried to show his personal interesting talks and view images over the internet. That’s why I highly evaluate his activity in the age of micro-politics. I think he is a radical successor of Mini FM although he didn’t learn about it. Today, traditional type of criticism and demonstration don’t work anymore.
The repression against him reveals that in the area of micro-politics, Japan is much more controlled and unchanged. In the level of micro-politics, Japan is unchanged from the prewar period to the present. After his first challenge on the 29th of April, he flied his drone over the Buddhist temple in Nagano to show the ceremony on the 9th of May. Unfortunately, the drone ‘landed’ in the midst of the ceremony. Mass media reported that it “crashed” but that’s a lie. Moreover, there is a speculation that it was hacked and forced to land by a cyber police department.
On the 13th, he tried to show City of Tokyo from the perspective of the top of Edo castle but just before starting his another drone (the previous one is still in the police department) many cops came and brought him to the police station on the excuse that they had to “protect” a “juvenile” (15 years old) who rejected his identity. He was released after 4 hours. But it turns out to be the beginning. He was arrested and will be in the police station not allowing to meet even his parents (except his lawyer) even after 14 days and more.
This is too unreasonable and absurd. Given the present “nationalist” feeling, people might consider “outsider’s” opinion and criticism as an “domestic” matter and even as an “domestic interference”. But I am wondering that as a world-citizen we might have any solution to clarify this absurdity. If anything, please drop me a note to me: polym@translocal.jp
There are many videos on YouTube (without English subtites):
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%E3%83%8E%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AB%E3%80%80%E9%85%8D%E4%BF%A1