Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2024 June 12 - 18 [POLITICS]

Nihi opposes law revision that may promote discriminatory racial profiling

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Nihi Sohei on June 13 at a House of Councilors Judicial Affairs Committee meeting brought up the issue of racially biased policing, known as racial profiling.

Nihi referred to a report which the Tokyo Bar Association released in September 2022 in regard to its survey of people with foreign roots on racial profiling experiences. In the report, 60% of people surveyed answered that they experienced racially discriminatory police questioning at least once in the past five years.

The report introduced some cases of racial profiling such as these: “Police officers stopped me on the street and suddenly pulled down my pants and underwear,” and “I was stopped by the police at a point just a stone’s throw from my home and forcibly taken to a koban (a police box).”

Nihi asked, “Is the government aware of racially biased behavior by police officers? On what grounds do they treat foreigners with residency status in such a manner?” Justice Minister Koizumi Ryuji refused to respond to Nihi’s question.

Nihi noted that a bill to revise the Immigration Control Act, which is under discussion, will allow the revocation of the permanent resident status of non-Japanese residents in the event of their failing to pay taxes and social insurance premiums on time and making minor missteps including forgetting to carry a resident card. The JCP lawmaker opposed the bill as it may encourage police officers to conduct racial profiling and find justification for revocation.

Past related article:
> Motomura opposes a proposed stipulation revoking permanent residency [May 9, 2024]