Japan: Zushi City Council Member Issues Protest Statement in Front of Chinese Embassy in Tokyo

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners Zhang Yiwen and Liu Yue (common name Liu Xiyue) held a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo on October 17, 2025. They demanded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) immediately release their relatives who are detained in China. Hiroaki Maruyama, representative of SMG (Stop Medical Genocide) network and member of Zushi City Council, attended the activity to express his support.

Hiroaki Maruyama (second from left), member of Zushi City Council, reads the open letter.

Councilor Maruyama read a letter addressed to the Chinese government and then placed it in the embassy mailbox.

The letter severely condemned the CCP’s 26-year-long inhumane persecution and stated the following demands:

• Immediately halt the suppression, detention, and abuse of Falun Gong practitioners, and respect basic human rights;

• Immediately close all large-scale forced detention centers under the guise of “re-education centers” and unconditionally release all illegally detained practitioners;

• Immediately halt the state-level criminal practice of forced live organ harvesting;

• Immediately and unconditionally release all illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners, including Zhang Yiwen’s mother, Wang Guaiyan, and Liu Yue’s sister, Liu Cong.

Councilor Maruyama Condemns the CCP’s Atrocities

Councilor Maruyama

Councilor Maruyama said, “The actions of the CCP have long been known to the world. They are crimes and atrocities that are absolutely intolerable in human history, and they are the most brutal and immoral acts ever committed.” He pointed out that these actions are contrary to human laws and morals and are undoubtedly criminal.

He also said, “Falun Gong practitioners are simply exercising and pursuing moral improvement, but the CCP has criminalized them. This has never been criminalized in human history.” He called on the international community to unite and condemn the CCP’s tyranny, and called on the Japanese people and those with knowledge of the situation to speak out.

At the end, he firmly stated, “We will continue to call for action through protests like this.”

Liu Yue Calls for Her Sister to Be Released

“Please release my sister!” exclaimed Ms. Liu Yue, who lives in Japan, while she stood in front of the Chinese Embassy. She demanded the immediate release of her sister, Liu Cong, on October 17, 2025.

Liu Cong (45 years old) was seized by police who broke into her home in Huludao, Liaoning Province, on the morning of July 12, 2024. The police used the excuse that “Liu Cong appealed for her husband’s unjust sentence.” She was arrested for exercising her legitimate civil rights. Liu Cong’s husband, Luan Changhui, was a respected engineer at the Huludao Bohai Shipyard. He was taken from his workplace in 2021 and illegally sentenced to four years in prison simply for practicing Falun Gong. Liu Cong firmly believed in her husband’s innocence and repeatedly petitioned the judicial authorities and the courts to defend him. As a result, she became a target for persecution.

It was reported that at 5:00 a.m. on July 12, 2024, the police convinced Liu Cong to open the door, claiming there was a “water leak downstairs.” Over ten police stormed in and took her away. Without showing any documents they searched her home and confiscated her appeal documents, computers, cell phones, and other belongings. Liu Cong was subsequently detained in the Huludao City Detention Center. Liu Cong’s sister, Liu Yue, who lives in Japan, called the local police station to ask about her whereabouts, but was told, “There’s no such person,” and, “If you really want to know, come to China. We will arrest you immediately.”

In February and June 2025, Liu Cong underwent two trials. In court, she argued that her religious beliefs were protected by Chinese law (freedom of belief) and that her husband’s arrest was illegal. She read less than a third of her six-page statement when the judge interrupted her. The case was dismissed for insufficient evidence, but she was sentenced to four years in prison.

Ms. Liu lamented, “Not only was my sister subjected to forced labor, she may even have been subjected to forced organ harvesting.” She said she is one of countless victims’ family members and is a witness to the CCP’s and it’s accomplice’s brutality. She vowed never to allow these crimes to go unpunished. She strongly demanded the release of all illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners, including her sister Liu Cong, and an end to the persecution. She also called for global freedom of belief and peace.

Zhang Yiwen Calls for Her Mother To Be Released

“Please immediately release my mother, Wang Guaiyan!” said Ms. Zhang Yiwen, a practitioner in Japan, in front of the Chinese Embassy on October 17. To rescue her mother, a victim of the CCP’s persecution, Ms. Zhang appealed to Japanese people and the international community to pay attention to the issue. She deposited a letter of protest in the embassy mailbox.

Ms. Zhang’s mother, Wang Guaiyan, was sentenced to four years in prison by the Jintai District Court of Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, simply for practicing Falun Gong. In her letter of protest, Ms. Zhang pointed out that the sentence had no legal basis. She said, “Practicing Falun Gong and possessing related literature are completely legal under current Chinese law.”

Ms. Wang Guaiyan suffered from postpartum symptoms, but practicing Falun Gong restored her health and improved her physical and mental well-being. After an accident, she forgave the person who injured her. However, this kindhearted woman was brutally persecuted.

Since the persecution began in 1999, Wang Guaiyan has been illegally detained multiple times, and she has spent less than five years with daughter. During her detention, Wang Guaiyan endured repeated beatings; her hair was pulled, her head was beaten, she was pricked with needles, and she was made to do forced labor, but she remained kind and steadfast in her belief despite the abuse.

On April 11, 2024, Wang Guaiyan was taken away by police while she read the Fa at another practitioner’s home. For over a year, she was deprived of all visitation rights and received a heavy sentence under a shady procedure. This September, Zhang Yiwen’s father went to the prison to request a visit, but was threatened by guards, who claimed, “She refuses to give up practicing, so we have ways to deal with her.” Zhang Yiwen is afraid her mother will be tortured again.

She pointed out that her mother’s experience is not an isolated case, but rather one that’s shared by tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China today. She also cited the case of practitioner Yao Jiaxiu, who was framed and sentenced to five years in prison for “participating in the production of truth-clarifyingmaterials.” The court ignored Yao Jiaxiu’s plea of innocence, and did not conduct an open trial during the appeals process. Her lawyer was unable to obtain the verdict. She said the judicial system is non-existent.