A group of Japanese citizens launches a lawsuit against the police to stop alleged 'racial profiling'
A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, launched a civil lawsuit against the country’s police on Monday, accusing the authorities of racial profiling and discrimination and demanding an end to the alleged practice.
The case, to be heard in Tokyo District Court, comes as Japan in recent years has seen an influx of workers from abroad. The number of non-Japanese living in Japan reached a record high last year, at nearly 3 million people.
One of the three plaintiffs, Syed Zain, a 26-year-old Japanese citizen of Pakistani descent, says he has been repeatedly stopped by police, including getting searched in front of his home. He has lived in Japan for two decades, attended Japanese schools and is fluent in the language, he said.
“They don’t recognize us as a Japanese,” he said of the police. “From the first moment, they think I’m a criminal.”
