JAPAN: Thirty thousand Japanese flock to concerts supporting the global call to action against poverty
- 00:00:50
- ITN Source
JAPAN: Thirty thousand Japanese flock to concerts supporting the global call to action against poverty
Thirty thousand Japanese gathered over the weekend (December 3-4) at the Saitama Super Arena in benefit concert for Action against Poverty. The concert, sponsored by the White Band movement, invited many top Japanese pop stars to the fully booked event to call on an end to poverty. The involvement of pop stars in Japan has highly raised the profile of the white band movement. Nearly 4 million plastic bands were sold in Japan for the campaign in the past few months. The Japanese group organising the White Band campaign, Hottokenai (meaning in Japanese "Don't let it be") says so far the movement has been a success but much remains to be done. "The white band movement has gained quite a lot of momentum in Japan however our challenge now is how to link the reality of the actual poverty in the world with the movement and get our message across to as many people as possible. However Japan does not have a strong tradition of advocacy and don't understand that if everyone acts it will create results and we still have to get that message across too. If that message gets across in Japan it will help enormously in defeating poverty," said Yuka Iwatsuki. Many people fear the white band movement will end as a flash in the pan once the usually fickle Japanese youths get over this latest fad. However organisers are trying to get a serious message across to mostly apolitical young Japanese before that happens. The coalition of 60 Japanese NGOs that make up the Hottokenai group hopse to create momentum to press the Japanese government to improve and increase overseas aid so that international policies can truly begin to work for people living in poverty.
ITN Source | December 8, 2005
