Draft:Kawasaki Anti-Hate Speech

Hate Speech in Japan
History

Hate speech has been in the world for centuries and Japan is no exception. It is to be believed that the first counts of hate speech in Japan were against the Ainu and the Ryukuans. Those of the mainland, the Yamato people, believed themselves to be superior to the Ainu and the Ryukuans and subjected them to many different forms of hate speech and actions. As time passed, they were made to assimilate and blend in with the Yamato people.

With the start of World War 2, Korea and Manchuria were annexed by Japan. As a result many Chinese and Koreans moved to Japan to fight in the war or to try to gain a better life there. After the end of the war, many Korean and Chinese people remained in Japan for many different reasons. One of these reasons being their children have already made a stable life in Japan, only knowing Japanese as they were forced to assimilate into Japanese culture. Another is that many have started businesses and livelihoods in Japan and couldn’t abandon them. Lastly, the state in Korea and Manchuria were very unstable after the war and some believed it was as safe to stay in Japan. This led to minority populations of Koreans and Chinese people in Japan. And as a result, these populations have become often a scapegoat for disaster and panic in Japan. The Kanto massacre is one of these events. In the  aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, many Zainichi Koreans and Chinese were killed. False rumors were spread of Zainichi Korean and Chinese poisoning water and stealing food after the earthquake. This sent many in a state of hysteria and was the driving factor to the massacre. Even in more recent times, Zainichi Koreans are the subject to many hate speech rallies and videos.

In recent times, there has been an influx of foreign residents in Japan. One of the sources of foreign residents is the Technical Intern Training Program. This program is supposed to be a way for foreigners to be able to come to Japan and learn technical skills that they can use when they return to their home country. Although, this program has become a source of many unethical work practices and the United Nations fear that this may be an opening to human trafficking. Another source is the Japan Skilled Worker Visa. This Visa allows for foreigners to live and work in Japan for either 5 years or indefinitely, though few rarely qualify for the indefinite visa. This influx of foreigners has also brought a wave of hate speech. Many who participate in this hate speech believe that these foreigners pose a threat to Japan and the Japanese identity.

Law
The laws surrounding Japan are incredibly lax surrounding the topic of hate speech. The laws of the national government are general without many functional uses. In fact, the document is incredibly short without any measures to concretely define or punish hate speech. The basic and rudimentary policy focuses on the behavior of the perpetrator while maintaining the position that is the responsibility of the government. However, the law addresses nothing else of note. The law mainly delegates all other responsibilities to the local government. In comparison, the law surrounding hate speech in Kawasaki is in-depth and addresses many of the gaps left behind in the national hate speech law. The Kawasaki city ordinance for creating a discrimination-free city with respect for human rights takes a multi-disciplinary approach to hate speech in  Japan. The bill punishes hate speech that falls into three categories. Through ostracism, harm, and insult which are all actions of hate speech. This is whether in real life or online, there are issues presented within the law. However, past these incidents, there are not many that are punishable. Furthermore, there is still when a citizen tries to take down social media posts where they might have to show up in court to protest in hate speech. The law holds the mayor responsible for creating plans to improve the human rights of the citizens of the city and must share them with the city council when developed for editing and improvements. The law also establishes a council of up to 12 people that discusses topics of human rights with the mayor and suggests actions that should be taken to make Kawasaki a more accepting city. Source: Guidelines for Understanding Article 12 of Kawasaki City’s Ordinance for the development of a human-rights-based city without discrimination.

Important people
Choi Kangija is a Kawaski citizen is a Korean leader in the community. She is a third-generation Korean resident in Japan. As a worker at a multicultural center, diversity is an issue she takes issue with within Japan. She is outspoken about the issue of discrimination and hate speech. According to the Mainichi Daily, Choi describes the implementation of the laws within Kawasaki, “I think that this ordinance is a treasure of Kawasaki and Japan, as it indicates there is social justice that will punish discrimination as a crime. We would like to put high expectations on the ordinance's effectiveness in restraining hate speech and continue to support its enforcement while trusting in the city government's resolve."

She gives her testimony about what it is like to live in Japan under the threat of hate speech. Choi describes a racist rally that occurred in November 2015, “I was afraid when I saw the rallies outside of Kawasaki Station, so I avoided that area, but when they came to my neighborhood, I had nowhere to go. I felt both fear and shock. “They shouted terrible things at us, telling us to ‘Get out,’ and treating us like dirt. Counter-demonstrators followed the group, shouting at them to end their discrimination, echoing the cry in the heart of all the residents. I couldn’t sleep for nights. I was constantly afraid that they would come again.” The impact of her experience is incredibly powerful as many foreigners do not speak out against hate speech for fear of retaliation. Zainichi Koreans are among the other foreigners who have the most vitriol directed towards their background for their association with Korea.

She also received death threats at work and has been wearing a protective vest, fearing for her life. Furthermore, the inability to find photos of her on the internet shows the kinds of fear the people from these hate speech movements inspire.

Norihiko Fukuda is the popular Japanese Mayor of Kawasaki who has been vocal about his supportive programs for foreign nationals. There are about 35,0000 people who need support from the government regarding hate speech. Furthermore, he was the first to indicate in June that the city would introduce criminal punishments to strengthen measures to rein in hate speech. This is a part of his initiative to increase the diversity in his city without only focusing on hate speech. The population has increased over 10 percent over 10 years which is a testament to the productivity of these policy changes. Especially in the midst of the population decline. Kawasaki has embraced the diversity Japan offers. In order to create a change in other cities, they should take the example of Kawasaki. Currently, he is working on the future of diversity within the housing system. His policies focus on safety in terms of the neighborhood watch for children and the promotion of local crime prevention.

Responses
The effects of hate speech and future policies

Hate speech has created a harmful environment both online and in Japanese citizens' everyday lives. The Action Conservative movement (ACM), this movement emerged in Japan in the middle of the 2000s. The ACM is the right-wing party that promotes racist, xenophobic, and mono-cultural rhetoric. Through the use of the internet, hate speech gets amplified to other Japanese citizens. Even though their rallies are public, there are a small number of people who listen to these speeches.

The members of the ACM dress as everyday citizens to deceive other Japanese civilians into thinking their perspective is the current prevailing opinion within Japan. At first, a person might think the internet is the one thing that enabled “ordinary citizens” to engage with the ACM. However, there is a greater event resulting in the mobilization of “ordinary citizens” which is the street performance. Ultimately this ends up being structured to the internet in terms of video and live streaming.

The internet is a powerful amplification of street demonstrations. These communities inspire followers who aspire to replicate these demonstrations or increase violence. This violence can be setting fire to buildings, violence against minority communities, and generally hate speech against minorities. These videos become notable on the internet and the communities want to receive praise from the other members of the ACM.

These have reduced the ability of people who are associated with the ACM in their ability to operate as a movement within the community. However, even though their methods are significantly reduced there are issues with Kawasaki’s hate speech policy. There are still a great deal of hate rallies yet fewer than before. Only the actions that fall under the graph of behavior are subject to penalty. However this fine can penalize others up to $4,655 in potential damages which is on the lower end for a victim of a hate crime or speech. Whereas others remain relatively unpunished. In the future policy should focus on putting a more equivalent punishment to the hate speech experienced by other communities. Furthermore, there should be an emphasis on the internet restrictions for the people who violate said policies. However, this policy is further developed than the “Act on the Promotion of Efforts to Eliminate Unfair Discriminatory Speech and Behavior against Persons with Countries of Origin other than Japan” which is an extremely rudimentary policy implementation.