OSAKA -- Human rights groups in Japan on Wednesday welcomed a recently released United Nations report detailing racial discrimination and xenophobia toward minorities, including Korean, Chinese and other foreign residents in this country, and called for legislation to remedy the problem.
"We do need such a law," said Song Jung Ji, an Osaka-based lawyer of Korean descent who is a director at a nonprofit organization working to end discrimination against foreign residents. "Japan currently has no legislation to protect the rights of foreigners against discrimination."
The report, issued Jan. 26, was a stinging critique of Japan's treatment of ethnic minorities and foreign residents, and is part of U.N. Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene's worldwide report on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.