{"id":14254,"date":"2016-10-22T11:22:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T21:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14254"},"modified":"2016-10-23T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2016-10-23T21:22:30","slug":"kyodo-japans-laws-against-hate-speech-piecemeal-lack-teeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14254","title":{"rendered":"Kyodo: Japan\u2019s laws against hate speech piecemeal, lack teeth"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. One more blog entry about hate speech in Japan (because these developments are important and deserve archiving, as they set the tone for how the new law will be enforced and possibly lead to laws against other forms of racial discrimination). The Mainichi articles thus far archived on Debito.org (here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>) have talked about the positive developments of people being called to account for their hateful speech, and the chilling effect (for a change) over anti-foreign public rallies. Yet Kyodo below makes a (rather mild) case that the law\u00a0does not go far enough. Read on. Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s laws against hate speech piecemeal, lack teeth<\/strong>
\n THE JAPAN TIMES\/KYODO NEWS,\u00a0OCT 12, 2016<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2016\/10\/12\/national\/social-issues\/japans-laws-hate-speech-piecemeal-lack-teeth\/<\/a><\/p>\n

When Moon Kong-hwi saw the scene, he thought the bottom of society had dropped out.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was five years ago when he witnessed people engaged in hate speech in Osaka\u2019s Tsuruhashi district, one of the country\u2019s famous Korea towns. Since the vitriol came at maximum volume, what still echoes in his ears are words that raise fears.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It happened in front of JR Tsuruhashi Station<\/a>. What he heard outside of the station\u2019s exit was screams such as \u201cGo back to South Korea!\u201d and \u201cGet out of Tsuruhashi!\u201d by a dozen of people who held loudspeakers and rising sun flags.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cUttering discriminatory words shouldn\u2019t be done in society. But common sense is no longer there,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He could not do anything and went home, painfully aware that he is a minority in Japan. Since then, he has made it his mission to put information on the internet so his young son and daughter will not encounter such derogatory displays.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is one-minute video shot in Tsuruhashi in February 2013. A young girl yelled at Koreans living in Japan: \u201cI really can\u2019t stop hating you!\u201d \u201cWe will carry out a massacre in Tsuruhashi!\u201d she continued.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The girl, now 18, lives in the Kanto region. She still wages hate-speech campaigns while aiming to be a TV celebrity.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the campaign was to demonstrate that Japan is no longer a peaceful country. Looking at the reactions on the internet, I thought it was successful that we turned their eyes to the issue,\u201d she explained.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Asked if she believed if what was in the video constituted discrimination, she said, \u201cSaying it is discriminatory itself is wrong. In a really racist country, people throw cans at those who are discriminated against.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s Japan, do we have that much discrimination?\u201d she asked.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s first hate speech law, which took effect in June, was created in line with Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, and Article 13, which guarantees basic human rights.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts, though, say the law is flawed because it lacks both a stated prohibition of hate speech and carries no punishment for perpetrators.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In July, an ordinance to curb hate speech took effect in the city of Osaka. It helped minimize threatening expressions, including \u201cDie!\u201d and \u201cKill them,\u201d but did little to curb slurs like \u201cthe crime rate among Korean people is high.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet the environment surrounding offensive displays appears to be changing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kawasaki announced on May 31 it would not allow the organizer of a hate speech demonstration to use a park following past remarks and activities. In Osaka, police called for \u201ca society free of discrimination.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But perpetrators of discriminatory behavior have turned their attention to the political arena.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Makoto Sakurai, 44, the former head of the anti-Korean group Zaitokukai, ran in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July, and said in a campaign speech: \u201cThis is a free country. It is free to call you anything during the campaign.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sakurai was able to publicly pledge, for example, the \u201cabolition of public assistance for non-Japanese\u201d because Article 21 protects freedom of political activities as well as freedom of speech, while the election law prohibits interference in political speeches.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He did, however, refrain from the violently offensive outbursts that he has frequently made in the past.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sakurai, who had said he was not interested in elections until the gubernatorial poll, was not elected but garnered about 110,000 votes. He launched a political group and said in his blog that his goal is to gain a majority in every assembly in Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Regulations and ordinances have helped tighten curbs on hate speech, but the discriminatory feelings deeply embedded in people\u2019s minds have not changed much.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHow could the Constitution encourage discrimination and hurt people\u2019s feelings?\u201d said one activist in the \u201ccounter\u201d movement against hate speech. Surging nationalism has raised the question and society is searching for an answer.<\/em><\/strong>
\nENDS<\/p>\n

===============<\/p>\n

Do you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org’s activities? \u00a0We are celebrating Debito.org’s 20th Anniversary in 2016, so please consider donating a little something. \u00a0More details here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One more blog entry about hate speech in Japan (because these developments are important and deserve archiving, as they set the tone for how the new law will be enforced and possibly lead to laws against other forms of racial discrimination). The Mainichi articles thus far archived on Debito.org (here, here, and here) have talked about the positive developments of people being called to account for their hateful speech, and the chilling effect (for a change) over anti-foreign public rallies. Yet Kyodo below makes a case that the law does not go far enough:<\/p>\n

Kyodo: Japan\u2019s first hate speech law, which took effect in June, was created in line with Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, and Article 13, which guarantees basic human rights. Experts, though, say the law is flawed because it lacks both a stated prohibition of hate speech and carries no punishment for perpetrators.<\/p>\n

In July, an ordinance to curb hate speech took effect in the city of Osaka. It helped minimize threatening expressions, including \u201cDie!\u201d and \u201cKill them,\u201d but did little to curb slurs like \u201cthe crime rate among Korean people is high.\u201d Yet the environment surrounding offensive displays appears to be changing. Kawasaki announced on May 31 it would not allow the organizer of a hate speech demonstration to use a park following past remarks and activities. In Osaka, police called for \u201ca society free of discrimination.\u201d But perpetrators of discriminatory behavior have turned their attention to the political arena…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,52,5,14,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-hate-speech","category-human-rights","category-japanese-politics","category-racist-images-in-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}