A nongovernmental group will start a counseling service for young "zainichi" Koreans, the ethnic Korean permanent residents in Japan, in need of advice and support amid growing anti-Korean sentiment.
The service called Harehoko, to be launched Aug. 1, will be provided by KEY (for KorEan Youth), an organization that tries to address discrimination problems and facilitate human rights awareness.
"Zainichi Koreans have always been dealing with discrimination, but as far as I know, we're the first to offer them help," said group representative Ryang Yong-song of KEY's Tokyo office.