Anonymous Japan plans street protest on Jul. 7

Anonymous Japan has revealed plans for a street demonstration in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Jul. 7 in protest of the country's recently revised copyright law.

A statement released by the hacktivist group Thursday noted the need for a "clean-up activity" in Japan. The group will hold an offline meeting in suits and Guy Fawkes' mask, as well as pick up garbage and hand out leaflets to explain what the group stood for and its concerns over the revised law. 

According to Anonymous, few Japanese understood why their concerns over the new copyright laws were "valid and sincere", and the media had not portrayed the truth. This prompted the need for a street demonstration to help fellow citizens be more aware of the issue through a "productive message", it said.

"Anonymous is neither a group nor criminal. We are united citizens of the world who are concerned that our governments and the content industry are trying to take away our liberties on the internet," the statement said.

Last week, the hacktivist group launched "Operation Japan", a series of cyberattacks on Japanese government sites, in retaliation to the recent introduction of of stricter punishments for piracy. The revised copyright law, which came into effect Jun. 20, made illegal downloads punishable by up to two years in prision, which the group said would send many innocent people to jail.

In Europe, a tweet posted Wednesday from AnonyOps, a Twitter account associated with Anonymous, said: "OHAI. Expect us", before reproducing a link to a list of the 39 Members of European Parliaments (MEPs) who voted in favor of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), suggesting there might be some reprisal in store for Members of European Parliaments (MEPs).