Japanese citizens told to be cautious over L.A. protests
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Tuesday called on Japanese citizens in Los Angeles to be cautious about protests in the U.S. city against President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
"We will continue to closely monitor the developments in Los Angeles with grave interest," he said at a press conference.
Iwaya said that the government will take all possible steps to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals, adding that there have been no reported injuries among the Japanese community so far.
Los Angeles and its surrounding area is home to the largest number of Japanese nationals overseas, totaling some 64,000 as of October 2024, according to government data.
The protests since Saturday against raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have intensified after Trump, a Republican, deployed Sunday some 300 National Guard troops to quell them, despite no request from Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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'With the militarization of Los Angeles it's time to get out and let Trump know this is unacceptable,' said retiree Gary Snyderman. 'All of this is so unconstitutional.' The group then marched through downtown streets drumming and chanting, 'No more deportations!' The demonstration had grown to at least a thousand protesters by late Tuesday, remaining relatively peaceful with limited engagement between the group and police officers. Santa Ana In Santa Ana near Los Angeles, armored vehicles blocked the road Tuesday morning leading into the Civic Center, where federal immigration officers and numerous city and county agencies have their offices. Workers swept up plastic bottles and broken glass from Monday's protests. Tiny shards of red, black and purple glass littered the pavement. Nearby buildings and the sidewalk were tagged with profane graffiti slogans against ICE and had Trump's name crossed out. A worker rolled paint over graffiti on a wall to block it out. National Guard officers wearing fatigues and carrying rifles prevented people from entering the area unless they worked there. While a small group kept up their demonstration Tuesday, several counter-protesters showed up. One man wore a red T-shirt and Make America Great Again cap as he exchanged words with the crowd opposing the raids. Boston Hundreds of people gathered in Boston's City Hall Plaza on Monday to protest the detainment of union leader David Huerta Friday during immigration raids in Los Angeles. Protesters held signs reading 'Massachusetts stands with our neighbors in Los Angeles' and 'Protect our immigrant neighbors,' and shouted, 'Come for one, come for all' and 'Free David, free them all.' Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, was released from federal custody later Monday on $50,000 bond. 'An immigrant doesn't stand between an American worker and a good job, a billionaire does,' said Chrissy Lynch, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Washington, D.C. Several unions gathered Monday in Washington to protest the raids and rally for Huerta's release, and marched past the Department of Justice building. Among the demonstrators was U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state. 'Enough of these mass ICE raids that are sweeping up innocent people,' Jayapal said. 'As we see people exercising the constitutional rights to peacefully use their voices to speak out against this injustice, they are being met with tear gas and rubber bullets.'
