Three NGOs held a protest in Japan against North Korea violations of human rights outside Chongryon (General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan) on December 10th, Human Rights Day. As Japan and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations, the Chongryon in Tokyo has often acted as a de facto embassy.  Two ICNK member organizations, Amnesty International Japan and Human Rights Watch, and a third NGO, North Korean Abduction Victims Worldwide, led the protest.
 
The three organizations at the protest urged Chongryon/North Korea to close the concentration camps, to accept the UN Commission of Inquiry, to accept the UN special rapporteur, Mr. Marzuki Darusman, and to return home all abduction victims. The protests are the latest efforts of Japanese activists and ICNK member organizations on behalf of human rights in North Korea following an October meeting with the Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs.