5 - The Current Movement of Hate Speech

Summary

Between 2009 and 2010, a Korean ethnic school in Kyoto in Japan was attacked by racist groups. As an attorney representing the school in the case, the author of this chapter was able to win a historic Supreme Court decision that affirmed the illegality of racial discrimination and ordered payment to the school of a large award for damages in 2014. This was the first ruling to acknowledge the illegality of hate speech in Japan. It triggered a national debate about establishing a new law against hate speech and hate crimes, and in June 2016 the Hate Speech Elimination Act, the first to address the issue, was enacted. To examine the impact of this law, the chapter first outlines the facts of and background to the case, clarifying issues about racism in Japan, then goes on to analyse the historical and social roots of that racism to assess whether or not the law is effective in combating it. The chapter concludes with a look at what has gone on in Japan since the Act came into force and what more might be needed to tackle the crisis.