A U.N. child rights panel urged Japan on Friday to eliminate discrimination against children of minorities, including Korean residents of Japan.
Japan should "undertake all necessary proactive measures to combat societal discrimination and ensure access to basic services" for children of Korean residents of Japan and other minority groups, the U.N. Committee on Rights of the Child said in a report.
Koreans face wide discrimination in Japan, particularly in employment and marriages. At Japanese schools, there have been reports of bullying of Koreans.
The committee said children of the indigenous Ainu people and the so-called Buraku people, the descendants of former social outcasts, are among the minorities who it is concerned also face discrimination.
This is the committee's second report on children's rights in Japan following one in 1998.
Jacob Doek, the committee chairman, welcomed Japan's youth policy outline, adopted in 2003, which pledges that the government will help young people become independent individuals in society.
But Japan has a long way to go before the policy guidelines formulated to cope with issues facing young people, such as juvenile delinquency, are effective, he said.
Doek said eliminating social discrimination will be the toughest task for Japan, and he urged the government to continue to make efforts to change society's attitude toward minorities.
The committee also voiced concerns about the increasing rate of suicide among young people in Japan, pointing to a need to relieve the competitive nature of the education system, which it said "has a negative effect on the children's physical and mental health."