Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Following the arrest of a student demonstrator near the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo, the headquarters of the radical, left-wing Zenshin newspaper was raided on Thursday morning with several police officers entering the building of the newspaper.

According to a person on site at the time of the raid, the reason given for the police action was “a search for evidence of an object which would have been used to hit a police officer that obstructed the exercise of official police functions.” 

It was believed to be linked to the arrest of the student. The source said there was no evidence linked to the student and the arrest was politically motivated, with the police aiming to put the blame on the organization. The student is being held at a police station in central Tokyo.

According to several sources, the raid on the newspaper’s headquarters was motivated by the publication of articles against the Israeli government and Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” on the population of the Gaza Strip.

Other activists who protested in front of Kojimachi Police Station on Thursday thought that the search was to checkup on activists before another big demonstration.

Activists gather at the scene raised slogans against Israel and in support of the Palestinians.