Aparent members of YamatoQ protested on January 23 against the COVID 19 vaccine program in Yokohama. Asahi Shimbun file photo Tokyo police arrested four members of an anti-vaccine, conspiracy group on April 7 on suspicion of unlawful entry at a health care clinic that has been providing shots against COVID - 19.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the four suspects belong to YamatoQ, a group that reportedly calls itself the Japanese wing of U.S. conspiracy cult QAnon.
The four broke into Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on April 7, according to investigative sources.
YamatoQ is waging an opposition campaign against the COVID 19 vaccine rollout, and the Tokyo police said they have gathered information on the group.
The group said on its website that it had organized synchronized anti-vaccination rallies in Tokyo, Sapporo and cities in Kanagawa and Fukuoka prefectures.
Its website spreads misinformation. It says that the coronavirus does not exist and that the vaccinations are part of plans to reduce the population. The site says that the vaccine contains an infection source, a seed of a disease that can cause a harmful effect on the body.
YamatoQ supports the former U.S. President Donald Trump, much like QAnon, who was believed to have led the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year.
The Japanese group's website claims that Trump saved many children, but the fact has never been reported in Japan.