Meet the woman refusing to be silenced by Japan's far-right
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Megumi Fukushima, an independent lawmaker in the city assembly of Tsurugashima, northwest of Tokyo, has denounced prejudice against immigrants and women on social media platforms.
This has included criticising the right-wing 'Japanese First'
Sanseito party, which did well in last month's upper house elections. She has posted messages such as 'Oppose discrimination against foreigners' and 'I will not tolerate hate against foreigners' on social networking sites.
But her comments have prompted dozens of complaints from the public to the assembly, as well as a message on the city's website threatening to kill Fukushima and bomb city hall.
The city assembly passed the motion on Monday after she rejected a request from the chairman to stop posting on social media with her official title.
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'Threats of murder and bombing are unacceptable,' Yoshihiro Uchino, chair of the city assembly, said on Monday. 'It is a given fact that [the resolution] is not intended to limit [Fukushima's] political activities. However, since June, I have asked Fukushima to exercise self-restraint as chairman, and yet she did not comply, so the city assembly decided to make an official statement.'
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