The Osaka Municipal Government has proposed an ordinance aimed at curbing hate speech against racial and ethnic minorities in the city, where verbal and other attacks against Korean residents have intensified in recent years.
The bill was introduced to the municipal assembly on Friday. If passed, the ordinance will take effect this fall and make Osaka the first city in the nation to regulate hate speech.
The proposal, the brainchild of the outspoken Mayor Toru Hashimoto, has two pillars. First, it would create a third-party panel of experts to investigate claims of hate speech against the city's residents. If the claims are considered legitimate, the city would make public the names of individuals or groups engaged in such acts.