(Clearwisdom.net) On January 11, 2003, Japan Falun Gong practitioners were invited by the Twenty-First Century Japan and Korea Committee of Friendship and Peace to attend their first gathering for peace and friendship this year. During the meeting, practitioners introduced the on-going persecution of Falun Gong in China to attendees including people from Japanese, Korean and Chinese churches and media. They made specific mention of how Ms. Yoko Kaneko was illegally arrested and tortured. While one practitioner gave a speech, another practitioner distributed Dafa truth-clarification materials to every attendee and at the same time asked people to sign the petition to rescue Ms. Yoko Kaneko.

When introducing himself, a practitioner said that previously he was fond of martial arts, until beginning his practice of Falun Dafa and obtaining true physical and mental health. His introduction drew great interest from the attendees.

The Secretary of the Committee, Reverend Simon, said in his speech that he hoped to rescue Ms. Yoko Kaneko as soon as possible. Many attendees signed the petition to support Yoko.