THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 11, 2022 at 16:53 JST
Investigators search an office of an organization that operates YamatoQ, a conspiracy-minded, anti-vaccine group, in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on April 9. (Shingo Tsuru)
Tokyo police arrested three more members of the anti-vaccine YamatoQ conspiracy group on May 11 on suspicion of unlawful entry into a vaccination clinic in Shibuya Ward, according to investigative sources.
The latest busts bring the total of those arrested in connection with the break-in to eight.
The sources said those newly arrested are in their 40s to 50s and are suspected of intruding into the COVID-19 vaccination site on the morning of April 7 to protest.
Twelve members of YamatoQ, which reportedly calls itself the Japanese arm of U.S. conspiracy cult QAnon and has been waging a campaign against the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, barged into the clinic that morning.
The Metropolitan Police Department has already arrested five of them including a 43-year-old man who serves as an executive of the organization. He calls himself the leader of YamatoQ.
Of the five, the executive and three members have been indicted on a trespassing charge.
YamatoQ has protested against vaccinations across the country. The group also spreads misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccinations on its website.
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