Tired of racial profiling in Japan, some foreign residents sue police to end discrimination
Residents in
Japan with foreign roots have started speaking out about being subjected to racial profiling by police, with some taking the issue to court, but supporters of their efforts warn that progress may be slow given apparent public indifference.
Although a survey suggests racial profiling, or questioning by the authorities on the assumption that one is involved in a crime based on race or appearance, has been carried out for years, only recently has the issue been publicly exposed in Japan.
'I am not saying Japanese police should not question citizens, including those with foreign appearance whatsoever, but I want to know the logic behind it,' said Zain Syed, a 27-year-old naturalised Japanese citizen. Born to Pakistani parents, Syed has been stopped by police on the street at least 15 times.
Syed said that whenever he had challenged officers on their reasons for stopping him, they insisted he was being treated no differently to anyone else. But convinced that he had been targeted solely based on his ethnicity, Syed decided to join a lawsuit.
The idea behind resorting to legal action is to pressure the government to prevent discriminatory interrogations.
Syed, who is self-employed and lives in the suburbs of Nagoya in central Japan, is one of three male plaintiffs in a civil suit filed in January 2024 against the Aichi prefectural police, Tokyo metropolitan police and the state, seeking 3.3 million yen (US$22,850) in damages per person.
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