Yumiko Yamamoto

Yumiko Yamamoto (山本優美子) is the former vice president and secretary general of far-right racist group Zaitokukai (在特会) and the founder of comfort women denier group Nadeshiko Action (なでしこアクション) which calls itself “Japanese Women for Justice and Peace.”

Yamamoto left Zaitokukai in late 2011 (according to her) or early 2012 (according to Zaitokukai press release) after members of her group have been prosecuted for violent assaults on Korean elementary school and other targets. In her book “Josei ga mamoru nihon no hokori (女性が守る日本の誇り)” published in 2014, Yamomoto explains that the reason for leaving the organization was not because of any disagreement with its activities, but because she felt confident that the organization had grown strong enough that she could focus her effort on comfort women denial.

Yamamoto is a board member of Global Alliance for Historical Truth (GAHT) and a key member of Alliance for Truth About Comfort Women.

See also:

Zaitokukai

Zaitokukai (在特会) or Zainichi Tokken o Yurusanai Shimin no Kai (在日特権を許さない市民の会) is a far-right extremist group known for violent rhetorics and actions against ethnic Korean communities and other minorities in Japan. Ever since its founding in 2006, Zaitokukai is also known for racist and misogynist attacks on former comfort women. The most notorious incident occurred in 2010 in which members of Zaitokukai and allied groups showed up in front of a Korean elementary school in Kyoto, banging on its gate and screaming racist epithets.

The group was founded by Makoto Sakurai, the president of the organization until 2015, who later ran for the governor of Tokyo in 2016. Another prominent leader of Zaitokukai was Yumiko Yamamoto, who served as the vice president and the secretary general until 2011 when she decided to focus her energy on Nadeshiko Action, a “women’s” organization focusing on comfort women denial.

After Sakurai founded Japan First Party in late 2016, some chapters of Zaitokukai transformed themselves into chapters of the party.