2nd December, 2015
Discrimination against Koreans in Japan has been allowed to "continue unchecked" and it is "imperative" the Japanese Government establish a legal framework for the protection of human rights including a law to prohibit racial discrimination, churches have urged.
The call came in a statement issued following a three day conference hosted by the Korean Christian Church in Japan (KCCJ) and held in Tokyo from 18th to 21st November. The conference, the third International Conference on Minority Issues and Mission, attracted representatives from about 30 church denominations and Christian groups from within Japan and elsewhere.
In a statement, the World Council of Churches said it was organised in response to the "alarming" rise of hate speech against the Korean ethnic community in Japan as well as the rise of hate crimes against ethnic and racial minorities in other parts of the world.
Rev Kim Byungho, general secretary of the KCCJ, said the conference had been organised to provide an opportunity for churches in Japan and the elsewhere to "share our common concerns and build bridges of solidarity so that minority communities in Japan can fully realise and enjoy the fullness of life as citizens with equal rights".
In a joint statement issued at the conference, participants – which included representatives of groups ranging from the National Christian Council in Japan to the Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the Uniting Church in Australia – said violence "rooted in discrimination against Koreans in Japan and other minorities" continued to take place in Japan as had public "hate speech" that incites racial hatred and ethnic discrimination against Koreans in Japan.
"In spite of the fact that these words and actions advocate direct harm toward the lives, spirit and bodies of minorities, including even children, and dehumanise those who are targeted, there still exists in the state and society of Japan no legal system to prohibit racial discrimination and violence that is based in it, and acts of discrimination have been allowed to continue unchecked," the communique said.
"Past cases around the world show that when hate speech is left unchecked, this will lead in future to crimes that are accompanied by more serious violence."
The statement said that it was clear historical revisionism that tries to "obliterate" historical awareness of Japan’s colonial rule, its role in the war and past violations of human dignity "serves to legitimise hate speech".
"In order to root out hate speech and build a society in which human dignity and equality are realised, it is imperative that the state and society of Japan examine historical facts again, and establish a legal framework for the protection of human rights, beginning with a law to prohibit racial discrimination."
In the statement, the churches of Japan confessed that "we stood aside and watched as minorities suffered under the violence of hate speech" and said they now resolve to "engage these issues and seek the realisation of peace and inclusive society on this earth, by accepting this as the call of Gospel mission entrusted to us as Christians living in this time."
For the full text of the statement, follow this link.
– DAVID ADAMS
