I've been on a climate change strike in Japan at the same time as the rest of the world! [#FridaysforFuture]

Mar 15, 2019. Do you know what happened on this day?

On March 15, as those of you who know me know, there was a global climate change strike. In Europe and the United States, the movement greatly expanded to Eurasia and Asia.

Who led this massive effort?

Why do we need to go on strike?

What kind of people would go on strike?

What's the climate change strike atmosphere like!

Let's take a closer look at that in this article. People who want to participate say, "Why would there be any point in doing this? If you are genuinely wondering, please read on.

The strike began with one girl's actions.

The strike to convey the protest about this climate change started with one girl in Scandinavia.

Her name is Greta Ernman Thunberg, she is an environmental activist born in 2003 and is Swedish.

She says she has had questions about climate change since she was eight years old. From there, I started to sit alone every Friday in school in front of a government building and plead with them to take action on climate change.

It led to the environmental strikes and marches on the same day by mainly young people who now resonated with her ideas throughout the world. It's only in 2019 this year that the activity has become particularly active in Japan.

Do you all know the difference between a strike and a march?

A strike is an action you take when you have something you want to tell them, even if it means quitting the main activity you are doing now. March, on the other hand, refers to the act of marching itself, doesn't it?

I would like to introduce Ms. Greta again in another article, but she has made a number of speeches on climate change in front of the United Nations and many other experts and voters, mainly in Europe.

Why are we striking over climate change? This is because it is mainly young people who are waiting for a future that will be heavily impacted in climate change, and climate change has a strong impact on the future. Standing up to climate change may start with one person, but it must be done with the cooperation of society and the planet at large in order to move society to mitigate the effects of climate change.

There are reports of natural disasters and extreme weather events that are thought to have occurred due to the recent progress of climate change.

How did I get involved?

The reason why I attended was because I saw a friend of mine who I was connected with on Facebook "like" the strike event.

When I was in Chile as a student for a long time, I was particularly concerned about the strike. Because Chile is so famous for doing a lot of strikes!

There is a wide range of strikes, some lasting one day and others lasting for months.

I like Chile very much, but if you are not a Chilean, I didn't think there was a strong reason to participate.

I wanted to participate in the education reform, but I couldn't get the right information and availability.

But I happened to see an announcement of a strike in Japan, and I was very interested in the environment, so I wanted to join in anyway! I'd like to see what kind of people are there, and I'd like to meet more people since I don't have many people I can talk to about such things! I went there as if I was going to the new club's welcome party when I first entered the university.

This time, the strike is being driven by young people, with Greta the organizer. In this respect, the image may be a little different from the strikes that are usually held in Japan.

First of all, everyone gathers in front of the United Nations University, and we're off!

First, we will meet at the University of United Nations University in Aoyama at 14:00.

Afterwards, representatives of the student organizations that planned this strike gave speeches and overviews of the day in front of the whole group. There were a lot of reporters there, and it was a great opportunity to give young people a voice.

There are some people who are being interviewed here and there. There were actually a few people who were on the news later.

The atmosphere was very peaceful. I thought there were a lot of Japanese people there, but one third of them seemed to be foreign nationals. It seems that Europeans and Americans are relatively more concerned about the environment than we are.

There were over 100 people. This climate change-related strike had actually taken place before in another month, but it was around 50 people that time. What a doubling of the number.

Well, we will be leaving at about 14:30.

By the way, of course, the march is not something that can be done without permission, so it is done after getting approval from the police in advance. With the cooperation of the police, we circled around the corner. It will probably take about 30 to 45 minutes.

The March is also very peaceful. The organizer will design the shouting and we will walk with placards (free).

Since I went to Shibuya, there was a lot of garbage on the street. I also tried picking up trash while walking. It's interesting because it even makes me wonder why I wanted to throw this away....

I walked with each claim painted on cardboard. I didn't bring my own, so I borrowed a placard that the organizer had prepared in reserve and walked.

The contents of the book range from the facts about climate change, which are not really known in the world but are well known, to those that simply want to change society. I don't know if it was there, but I think it could be a picture or something.

People on the sidewalk look a little curiously at those going to work and those concentrating on their smartphones. Some of them waved to us. It was fun to walk around the center of Shibuya by myself, because it's impossible to do it alone.

What's the point of going to the trouble of doing it on a weekday?

Strikes are done on weekdays.

Normally, you'd think, "Well, there are more people who can attend on Saturdays and Sundays," but that doesn't do much for us.

It is to stop economic and social activity by going on strike and to draw public attention to such marches.

The biggest point of the strike is to deal the "blow" of not being able to operate socially as usual.

Of course, taking a day off without informing the company is not good for both parties' mental health and for economic activity. If you are working, let them know that you are going on strike.

I also honestly wondered, "What does climate change have to do with strikes? At first I thought, "I'm going to do this," but I think it's a big deal. What are your thoughts on this?

How did you like?

In Japan, there may be some people who have a negative image of the strike, because it is still very difficult for people to take part in the strike and only those who have a strong desire to take part in it.

It's okay if you don't have confidence in yourself. Rather, I would like those who don't to join in. There have been many examples of how people have changed the world.

Tomorrow, Friday, September 19, there will be a larger climate change strike, also in Tokyo and Osaka. If you live in the city, please feel free to join us as if you were participating in a festival!

For more information about the March (strike), please contactClicking hereFor those who live in the Kansai areaClicking hereOther events will be held at other locations as well. If you live in other areas or want to know more about it, please contactClicking here.