NHK has produced a documentary about Katsuko Kato, the protagonist of my book "Japan's Prisoners of Conscience." It will air on 1/11/26 at 5 AM.
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"Living in a 'Military Base Town'"
Tachikawa has been a "military base town" throughout the postwar era. Born in Tachikawa in 1937, Katsuko Kato grew up surrounded by American soldiers and witnessed firsthand the Sunagawa Struggle against the expansion of the U.S. military base. During her university years, she participated in the 1960 Security Treaty protests. Later, when the Self-Defense Forces were relocated to replace the U.S. military, she began civic activism against the bases, which continues to this day. She still holds monthly anti-base demonstrations. We trace her life and listen to Kato's thoughts as she continues to confront the bases.