Takeshi Akune, who served as Secretary General of the World Federalist Movement of Japan since the 1990s, passed away this past January in Sakai, Osaka.
A dedicated federalist, peace and anti-nuclear activist, Akune was a strong advocate in Japan on behalf of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and the campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly.
Although he had resigned as Secretary General of WFM – Japan in September 2018, he continued to work for the causes he believed in. WFM’s then-Executive Director, Bill Pace commented, “The loss of Takeshi Akune is very sad, but I was inspired with his hard work for peace and disarmament to the very last breath.“
Most recently Akune promoted a petition calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to stop the reclamation effort in the Oura Bay in Henoko, Okinawa. The petition gained over 210,000 signatories, one of whom was Dr Brian May, lead guitarist for the band Queen.
Takeshi Akune frequently posted the Queen ballad “Teo Toriatte – Let Us Cling Together” (https://youtu.be/Ge18n2JCwBs), which movingly expressed the spirit of solidarity and humanity that characterized his life-long commitment to federalism and peace.
