-- A member of a U.N. committee that on Thursday began examining reports submitted by various governments on the issue of discrimination, has expressed concern over derogatory remarks about foreigners made by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara.
Luis Valencia Rodriguez, a member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, expressed concern that no action had been taken over the remarks made by Ishihara, who accused foreigners of committing heinous crimes.
On April 9, 2000, Ishihara told the Ground Self-Defense Force to be prepared for rioting by illegal foreigners in the event of a major disaster.
Ishihara has been under fire for using the term "sangokujin," which literally means "people from third countries." The term was used as a derogatory label for people from Japan's former colonies, Korea and Taiwan, after World War II.