Japan Press Weekly

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2018 May 16 - 22 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Lawyers bring Internet hate targeting Korean residents in Japan to court

Triggered by an anti-Korea hate blog, a large number of complaints for disciplinary action have been filed against lawyers supporting subsidies to Korean schools. Two of these lawyers on May 16 brought into court 960 complainants, demanding compensation for damages caused by the unjust filing of disciplinary complaints.

The two lawyers are Sasaki Ryo and Kita Kanehito, both members of the Tokyo local of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.

In June 2016, the Tokyo Bar Association published a statement in the name of the association president which urged that Korean schools be covered by public subsidies. In reaction to this statement, an anonymous anti-Korean blogger published an application form for a disciplinary complaint to be submitted to the association and encouraged blog readers to take action against several Tokyo Bar Association members, including Sasaki and Kita. The number of claims calling for disciplinary measures against Sasaki increased since June 2017 and now totals more than 3,000. It is safe to say that what the lawyer faces is a kind of anti-Korean hate crime.

Sasaki and Kita on the day held a press briefing in Tokyo. Sasaki said, “Unlike lawyers, those who are targeted by Internet hate and other hate-inspired deeds, such as welfare recipients and foreign residents in Japan, really feel scared, I think.”

Under Japan’s attorney system, lawyers may be subject to disciplinary proceedings carried out by the local bar associations which they belong to if they violate the Attorney Act or rules set by the JFBA or local bar associations, or commit “misconduct of a disgraceful nature”.

Past related article:
> Government ordered to provide tuition-free program to Korean schools in Japan [July 29, 2017]