When Shinjuku Ward Mayor Takashi Onoda referred to "sangokujin" in a speech on Nov. 13, Shin Sugok could not believe it.
It was only last year that Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara had used the same term, which literally means "people from third countries," and was forced to express regret amid a barrage of international criticism.
"It was too early (after Ishihara's case) for this absurd, but devastating scandal to happen," said Shin, a 42-year-old second-generation South Korean national who has written books on Korean residents in Japan.