Japan asked to aid Falun Gong devotee held in China

The government is being asked to pressure China over an arrest it made last year in connection with the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Atsushi Kaneko is worried that the Chinese government may not release his Chinese wife, Yoko Kaneko, when her 18-month detention expires Sunday.

Yoko was arrested May 24, 2002, for violating a Chinese law banning “evil cults” while she and some friends were distributing Falun Gong leaflets in Beijing.

“Past cases show that the (detention) period may be mercilessly extended due to unfair reasons,” Atsushi said in a petition he submitted Monday to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.

“I hope she will be released for certain on Nov. 23,” he told reporters afterward.

Falun Gong followers are often subjected to torture and other harassment in China when they refuse to leave the organization, according to Amnesty International Japan.

During a news conference Friday, Kawaguchi said Yoko Kaneko would not ordinarily receive protective custody because she is not a Japanese national. “But the ministry has approached the Chinese government about her case on various occasions since she is married to a Japanese and had been living in Japan,” she said.

Read Another Article

Remembering Jonestown Massacre
New Education Policy: Cultists to Forfeit Certificates

Related News Articles Topic(s): Falun Gong Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Falun Gong Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog