An organization opposed to hate speech against ethnic Koreans and other minorities in Japan has been launched, joined by a throng of high-profile figures.
The group, called “An international network overcoming hate speech and racism” (Norikoenet), held a press conference on Sept. 25 to announce its establishment. Kenji Utsunomiya, former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, and Chizuko Ueno, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, are among 21 co-leaders of the group.
In its inaugural declaration, the group stated, “Hate speech hurts each and every person with a conscience.”
The Tokyo-based group will join hands with other organizations here and abroad to stage protests against hate speech, as well as demand the removal of defamation on the Internet and work toward the legislation of an anti-discrimination law.
Co-leader Shin Sugok, a third-generation Korean resident of Japan and a human resource development consultant, said, “We can’t remain silent about the increasing wave of hate speech. We want to protect society so that everyone can live together in harmony.”
Norikoenet: http://norikoenet.org/index.html
Mainichi Shimbun, September 26, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130926p2a00m0na007000c.html
Anti-hate speech march fills streets around Shinjuku
A march against racial discrimination filled the streets of Shinokubo, Tokyo’s Korean neighborhood, and around nearby Shinjuku Station on Sept. 22.
Around 2,000 people participated in the “March on Tokyo for Freedom,” so named after the 1963 “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” where the late Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech calling for racial harmony. Participants marched around four kilometers, raising their voices with chants like, “Let’s end discrimination and live together.”
“We hope this becomes an impetus for thinking about various kinds of discrimination,” said Nobukatsu Kim, 38, one of the march organizers and a third-generation ethnic South Korean resident of Japan.
The march was planned by citizen volunteers who have been campaigning against recent hate speech marches. Participants called on the Japanese government to “sincerely adhere” to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Sexual minorities and the disabled also participated in the march.
Mainichi Shimbun, September 23, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130923p2a00m0na010000c.html