Three foreign-born residents of Japan will file a complaint against the government in Tokyo next Monday, seeking damages for racial profiling by Japanese police of which they are alleged to have been victims, their lawyers announced Wednesday.
These three men – one born in Pakistan, the other of African-American descent and the third from the Pacific Islands – were often stopped and questioned by police simply because of their ethnicity or appearance, depending on their lawyers.
“This will be the first trial to focus on racial profiling practiced by Japanese police,” although other trials over excessive interrogation have already taken place, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, Moe, told AFP. Miyashita.
The man, who was born in Pakistan around 20 years ago, came to Japan at the age of eight and received Japanese citizenship at the age of 13.
According to his lawyers, he has been questioned by police about 15 times in Japan, including twice outside his home last year.
The complainant, aged around 50, from the Pacific, has been married to a Japanese woman since 2002 and has acquired permanent resident status in the country.
According to his lawyers, he was interrogated by Japanese police about 100 times, including twice in one day and on four occasions, on the grounds that this practice of “racially discriminatory” police interrogations was “unconstitutional and illegal.”
The National Police Agency was not immediately available to respond to the allegations.
Immigration in Japan is increasing, but foreign-born residents accounted for just 2.3% of the total population in 2022, one of the lowest rates among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, according to a report published by that organization report this month.
Additionally, according to the same report, only about 25% of foreigners living in Japan had permanent residency status last year, reflecting the “strict conditions” for obtaining this permit.