Japan local government acts on anti-hate speech bill
Kawasaki city becomes first to act on anti-hate speech bill / Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Han-soo
Kawasaki city has become the first Japanese local government to ban ethnically provocative rallies by anti-Korean groups since an anti-hate speech bill was passed on May 24, according to Kyodo news.
An anti-Korean group has been denied permission to protest at a park in Kawasaki County on June 5. The group has protested about Koreans living in Japan at least 13 times since 2013.
The Japanese congress passed the anti-hate speech bill to ban any speeches against Koreans and other foreigners.
The congress defined the bill as: “unjust, discriminatory statements and actions involving insults or threats to injure or kill with the purpose of promoting and spreading discrimination and the exclusion of foreign residents and their children from the community.”
Anti-Korean protests have been a controversial topic in Japan, with the city council and local civic groups asking the city mayor, Norihiko Fukuda, to deny any form of ethnically charged hate speeches or rallies in the city’s parks.
The law stipulates that the mayor must approve any use of city parks.
The civic groups have also petitioned Kanagawa prefecture police to deny any approval of anti-Korean groups rallying on the streets.
“It is deeply regrettable that there have been hate speech rallies in Kawasaki city until now,” said Fukuda.
“I have decided to disallow anti-Korean groups to protect citizens’ safety and dignity from any form of discrimination.”
The mayor’s decision is meaningful because there has so far been no law under which to punish offenders.