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The Mainichi
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: Groups in Japan ask politicians not to spread hate against foreigners
TOKYO -- A group of human rights organizations has asked politicians to stop saying hateful things about foreigners during the election campaign in Japan. The election for the House of Councillors will be held on July 20. Recently, some political candidates have said negative and incorrect things about foreigners. The groups say these wrong ideas can hurt foreign people living in Japan. On July 8, the groups held a news conference in Tokyo. They said clearly, "We cannot allow lies or discrimination about foreigners during election campaigns." The city of Kawasaki made a special rule in 2020, saying people cannot say bad or hurtful things ("hate speech") about foreigners. During this election time, Kawasaki reminded people on social media that freedom to talk about politics is very important, but hate speech is not allowed. Human rights lawyer Yasuko Morooka said that what Kawasaki is doing is very good. She added that all cities and towns, and even the national government, should say the same thing. On July 3, when the House of Councillors official election campaign started, one political candidate in Kanagawa said in a speech that many foreigners got easy help from the government, while Japanese people had trouble. But the health ministry said clearly that this claim was wrong. Foreigners are about 3.2% of all people getting help from the government, not many, as the candidate said. Yuma Osawa from the "Tsukuroi Tokyo Fund," a group helping people in Tokyo, also explained that it is not true that foreigners can easily get special help, adding that people should only talk using facts, not wrong information. Because more foreigners are now living in Japan than ever before, some political parties have started saying they will make it harder for foreigners to enter Japan. Morooka said that foreign people had told him they feel afraid because of these speeches. As voters, people must "take responsibility and work to change the current situation." (Japanese original by Daiki Yano, Yokohama Bureau) Vocabulary candidate: a person who wants to be chosen to do a special job, such as become a politician hate speech: saying or writing hateful things targeted at other people or groups discrimination: treating some people badly or unfairly because they are different from you human rights: the rights all people should have, like freedom and safety campaign: when politicians do speeches, posters, and other activities to get votes facts: ideas or information that are true and correct
The Mainichi
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan NGOs warn against hate speech during upper house election campaign
TOKYO -- A group of nongovernmental organizations addressing the human rights of foreigners and refugees in Japan has called for measures against misinformation and discrimination during campaigning for the July 20 House of Councillors election An increasing number of political parties have been promoting exclusionary policies ahead of the upper house election, raising concerns candidates may exploit the election for hate speech. In joint news conference in Tokyo on July 8, the group declared, "Lies and discrimination cannot be tolerated during the election period," and called for municipalities in the country to follow the city of Kawasaki's lead in warning against discriminatory speech during elections. In 2020, the Kawasaki Municipal Government implemented an ordinance imposing criminal penalties for hate speech against citizens with foreign roots. However, nationwide, there continue to be cases of candidates using speeches, street campaigns and social media to repeatedly make baseless criticisms and hateful remarks about foreigners. On July 7, Kawasaki shared the contents of the ordinance on social media and warned, "While freedom of election campaigning and political activity is fundamental to democracy ... unjust discriminatory words and actions are prohibited by ordinance." Yasuko Morooka, a lawyer and secretary general of the Japan Network towards Human Rights Legislation for Non-Japanese Nationals & Ethnic Minorities, emphasized the importance of Kawasaki's efforts during the election period, stating, "Other local governments as well as the national government should also make such statements." On July 3, the official start of the upper house election campaign, a candidate in the Kanagawa constituency stated during a stump speech that it was wrong that many foreigners were receiving welfare benefits while Japanese people were struggling. According to Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare statistics, as of April, foreigners accounted for about 3.2% of all welfare recipients, and the rate among foreign households was about 2.9%. Yuma Osawa of the Tsukuroi Tokyo Fund, a general incorporated association, pointed out that claims such as "foreigners easily receive welfare" are unfounded and incorrect. He added, "We must not engage in discussions based on false information. Please calmly focus on the facts." According to the Immigration Services Agency, as of the end of 2024, there were 3,768,977 foreign residents in Japan, a 10.5% increase from the end of the previous year and a record high. In the upcoming upper house election, multiple parties have pledged to restrict or tighten the acceptance of foreigners. At the press conference, Morooka stated, "Antiforeignism is being stirred up in many campaign speeches, and I hear from foreigners that they are living in fear every day." She added, "We, as voters, must take responsibility and work to change the current situation." (Japanese original by Daiki Yano, Yokohama Bureau)
