The protest was organized by several civic groups, including Kyobozai NO! Jikko Iinkai (No to the anti-conspiracy bill! planning committee), which has opposed the State Secrets Law passed in 2013, and the wiretapping law, which expanded the scope of wiretapping authorized for criminal investigations in 2016.

„The anti-conspiracy bill is exactly like the Peace Preservation Law (under the Empire of Japan),“ Yuichi Kaido, an attorney on the Kyobozai No! committee, told the crowd. „We must bury the anti-conspiracy bill to defend a world in which the average citizen can make objections to the government.“