Progress, but small progress.
Osaka has passed its first ruling by a major city against hateful speech last Friday.
A more indepth ordinance failed to pass last year due to the LPD and Komeito parties opposing the idea of giving the city authority to loan money to victims who would want to take their case to court.
Osaka drew international focus for hate speech in February 2013 when an anti Korean group 'Zaitokukai' held a rally in the Tsuruhashi district where many ethnic Koreans reside. During the rally a YouTube video was taken showing a 14 year old hurling abusive slurs and death threats towards Koreans while the Zaitokukai members cheered on. This led to then-Mayor Toru Hashimoto and his 'Osaka Ishin no Kai' (One Osaka) party beginning to attempt to crack down on hate speech. Eventually leading to a heated debate against the head Zaitokukai member, taking place in October 2014.
An example of one of their rallies.
The ruling that passed on Friday simply allows a committee to be formed, consisting of 5 legal and academic experts who will investigate any allegations of hate speech filed by Osaka residents. Unfortunately, no 'real' action can be taken against the perpetrators. If the committee agrees that a hate speech case has taken place then the offender and their affiliated group will have their names posted on the city's website. It's effectively an official name and shame ruling.
During the early stages of the assembly it was even disrupted by a man throwing two orange paint balls to the ground and then yelling "Protect the self-esteem of Japanese people" as he was subdued by security, Kyodo News reported.
Korean activists have welcomed the decision but says more needs to be done. Current existing rules regarding public welfare allows public facilities to refuse groups who participate in discriminatory or violent behaviour, as well as revoke rally permits. However, this is full of exceptions and is generally down to subjective views of what is discriminatory so it is hard to enforce.
There are also a lot of concerns about the interpretation of 'free speech' regarding this new ruling but I feel that there is a huge difference between voicing an opinion and having a gang screaming abuse and wishing someone to die based purely on their ethnic background. It can cause emotional distress, destroy reputations as well as their income and future prospects. Not to mention the chance of inciting violence against them.
While Japan has definitely come along way regarding international communication and understanding, some citizens still feel there is something 'unique' about being Japanese and thus look down upon others who are not.
But don't get me wrong, I personally have had only positive experiences here and absolutely love the Japanese community and their hospitality. I wouldn't be living here otherwise. Despite this, it is easy to see the many micro aggressions that permeate Japanese society against outsiders, whether intentional or not.
The obnoxious Uyoku dantai in action, note how the police do nothing about their numerous obstructions and traffic law breaking either.
...I'm not really sure where I'm going with this post but I'm glad that some first steps have been taken to highlight hate speech as an issue that requires action rather than just ignoring it. I somewhat doubt whether this committee will be effective but some progress is better than none!
This should apply not just to Japan, but the world as a whole.
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