Who are all the anti-nuclear power demonstrators?
Emperor taboo-busting renegades like Taro Yamamoto? Just young hipsters or hardened veteran activists?
No, there’s plenty of ordinary folk who work in regular offices too. And they even marched in their “uniforms” to prove it.
October 30th saw a “suit demo” in which some 600 office workers rallied in Shinbashi, a real salaryman hub, in order to protest the re-starting of nuclear reactors in Japan.
The start time was 19:00, which as everyone who has ever worked for a Japanese company knows, is pretty early for people to have left their desks for the day. Still, some things are more important than finishing off their email to a colleague. These suited protestors were for once not putting in overtime at the office but instead were marching in Ginza.
Although there is a kind of cosplay-esque vibe to the “themed” demo, it is ultimately a pretty sincere attempt to convince the government that even ordinary white collar workers are concerned for the safety of atomic energy in Japan.
To start up to date with future Suit Demo events, follow the organizers on Twitter.
