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12 - Kyoto Korean Elementary School Case

The Facts

from Part IV - Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2021

Shinji Higaki
Affiliation:
Fukuoka University
Yuji Nasu
Affiliation:
Seinan Gakuin University
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Summary

Between December 2009 and March 2010, members of xenophobic groups attacked Kyoto Korean Daiichi Elementary School, organizing a series of three discriminatory rallies. When the school and the parents sought to fight back in the criminal and civil courts, they were met with obstacles: the undefined nature of hate speech, the legal system’s incapacity to deal with hate crime, and the Japanese majority’s lack of understanding of ethnic education, rooted in Zainichi Korean resistance against colonialism and assimilation. Charged under existing laws, four attackers were convicted in criminal court. The school’s persistence also paid off in victory in the civil courts. Inevitably, discussion of anti-discrimination legislation ensued, resulting in the Hate Speech Elimination Act of 2016 (the first anti-racism Act in Japan) and Kawasaki City’s anti-hate speech ordinance of 2019 (the first to stipulate criminal penalties). Nevertheless, many issues remain. This chapter reports the pain suffered by those subjected to the discriminatory attacks. It also discusses what it means for minorities to fight a legal fight and what issues persist even after victory.

Type
Chapter
Information
Hate Speech in Japan
The Possibility of a Non-Regulatory Approach
, pp. 257 - 294
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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