(Clearwisdom.net) On May 10, 2009, Falun Dafa practitioners in Japan held a grand parade on the busy streets of Tokyo to celebrate the upcoming tenth World Falun Dafa Day on May 13. This year, World Falun Dafa Day celebrates the 17^th anniversary of Falun Dafa's public introduction in China. May 13 is also the birthday of Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.

The weather was warm and gorgeous on May 10. The streets of Tokyo were crowded with residents and visitors. The Falun Dafa parade appeared on the street with resonant and impressive music and attracted much attention.

Practitioners in Japan celebrate the 10^th World Falun Dafa Day with a grand parade.

Passersby reading information about Falun Gong.

Practitioners gathered at Hibiya Park in Tokyo and had their picture taken to wish their Teacher Mr. Li Hongzhi a Happy Birthday.

The parade was led by the Divine Land Marching Band performing majestic music. The members of the band were dressed in simple, elegant costumes from the Tang Dynasty. Following the band were practitioners holding banners written with "Falun Dafa is Good," "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," "Happy Birthday to Teacher," "Celebrate World Falun Dafa Day," and "Falun Dafa Has Spread Throughout the World" in both Chinese and Japanese. The next group in the parade was comprised of little celestial maidens holding lotus flowers and dancing. A waist drum team and exercise demonstration group were also in the parade. The procession spread for about half a mile and went along the busy Nihonbashi Bridge, Tokyo Metro Station, and Ginza.

Passersby stopped to watch and talked about the parade. Practitioners distributed fliers with information about Falun Dafa along the parade route. The music from the marching band made people in tall buildings open up their windows to watch and listen from above. Many followed the parade to take pictures or videos. Some clapped along with the rhythm and some inquired about where they could learn Falun Dafa.

After the parade, practitioners gathered at Hibiya Park and called out, "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is good," "Falun Dafa is good," "and "Happy Birthday to Teacher" to express their respect and gratitude toward their Teacher.

Vila, an IT engineer from India, said it was his first time to see this kind of parade. He said that he felt very much at peace when he saw the banner with "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance." When he was told that there were many Falun Dafa practitioners in India, he was very excited and wanted to know more about Falun Dafa.

Mr. Yamane is in the scientific research instrumentation business. He read the Falun Dafa flier carefully and said that he already knew about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China through the Japanese media. Yamane said he was very happy to see the parade today and wanted to know more about Falun Dafa.

Ms. Yu Jia has been in Japan for two years. She started the practice ten years ago. She was once imprisoned, tortured, and brainwashed. She was very glad to be able to attend the parade, "It's a totally different world from China. I hope that one day practitioners in China can practice Falun Dafa freely and wish Teacher a happy birthday freely."

Ms. Mochizuki Ryoko used to have colon cancer and heart disease. She used to take a lot of pills and had no energy to take care of herself. She regained her health two months after she started to practice Falun Dafa. "I have been healthy ever since. Since the persecution started in 1999, I traveled all over the world to tell people the facts of the persecution and to spread the teachings of Falun Dafa. I want to stop the CCP from persecuting practitioners."

Mr. Qi learned about Falun Dafa in China. He started the practice in 1998 after he came to Japan. He used to have a bad spinal disc because of his prior involvement in sports and dancing. His ailments went away after he practiced Falun Dafa. Now his wife, son, mother-in-law, and 12 of his relatives practice Falun Dafa. He said, "We all became healthy and optimistic and look young."