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Thursday, August 30, 2012

By Steven Thompson 

The Taiji Police are already accusing dolphin activists of "disrupting business". This is something that, from my knowledge, they have never done and don't plan to do. This is also a serious crime in Japan.
We must be prepared for official accusations and serious jail time this year. The issue of posting videos is also a crime but I don't know the punishments. I also cannot imagine how it would
be inforced. Guardians and Monitors and independent activists, please realize we are dealing with a big ego: Mr. Hideto Ueda. Please get to know him. He is certainly getting to know you.
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Temporary police box opened with patrol group staff increased
Mainichi Shinbun 2012/8/24

On the 23rd August, Wakayama police held an opening ceremony of the temporary police box built in front of Hatajiry bay in preperation for the actions
of anti-whaling groups.

"It is expected that anti-whaling groups try to disrupt the business and post videos. We will not tolerate unlawful acts, we will strictly deal with such acts based on law and evidence. With price and sence of duty, you have to maintain the order so that the town residents can live without concerns," Hideto Ueda, chief of Wakayama police, said.

The temporary police box is the base for lookout and information gathering, divided into three groups; security patrol, information/evidence gathering, mobile watch. The security patrol group was increased to 12 from 9 last year. After the opening ceremony, they started patrolling with two police bikes and 6 cars.
thank you to Sayaka Nakamura for kind translation!