August 2008

Newsbrief

Summer greetings in the name of Jesus! It has been a busy summer so far, but we were able to take some time off to enjoy our summer retreat at Lake Nojiri. One of the highlights was Tim being featured in an article in the Japan Times, which came out while we were at the Lake (and where most everyone gets the Japan Times, as it is the only English newspaper available there). You can view the article at the Web site of the Japan Times.

Unlike the Web site, the pictures were not in color, but otherwise, it was the same article, and it occupied about half of a full newspaper page. Tim also wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in the Daily Yomiuri, the other major English newspaper.

With respect to the “Sayama Incident” referred to in the letter, we’re hoping that the continued pressure being applied will finally move the court to grant the retrial and full disclosure of all relevant evidence. One thing that would certainly help is more pressure from outside of Japan. People of influence, such as national and even local politicians, writing letters to the Japanese court urging them to respect basic human rights and fairness could very well make the difference. If any of you have such contacts who would be willing to write such a letter, please encourage them to do so. In fact, such letters from anyone overseas would be helpful.

The Human Rights Commission of the United Nations has sent advisories to the Japanese government to order the police to make all of the evidence they hold available to the defense lawyers, something they have refused to do so far. There may very well even be genetic material from the real culprit available for DNA testing, which would unequivocally prove Ishikawa’s innocence, but even if not, there is plenty of other evidence to prove his innocence. Anyway, letters from abroad showing that Japan’s reputation is being negatively affected by their failure to respect basic human rights in this and other similar cases will likely have a significant impact. The following are the two addresses to which such letters can be sent:

Tokyo Koto Saibansho
1-1-4 Kasumigaseki,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 100-0013

Tokyo Koto Kensatsucho
1-1-1  Kasumigaseki
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan 100-8904

Tim and Juji Boyle

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 104