Five members of a QAnon-inspired conspiracy group in Japan were sentenced on Thursday after breaking into several COVID vaccination clinics across Tokyo, according to a report. The defendants, who were involved in a group called YamatoQ, were all handed suspended sentences for the break-ins in March and April, TV Asahi reported. A Tokyo court said in its ruling that the members “dared to commit the crime for the purpose of forcing their own beliefs,” adding: “They may not evade severe condemnation.” YamatoQ has orchestrated frequent anti-vax and anti-mask protests around Japan this year and subscribes to the wild QAnon conspiracy that loosely claims that a secret cabal of child sex-trafficking Satanists is running the world. The Japanese branch of the Q network has become one of the most well-developed and active outside the U.S., according to social network analysis research company Graphika.
