A municipal panel on Wednesday proposed to the city of Osaka that it set up a body to judge whether racist demonstrations held on the streets amount to hate speech, in a bid to crack down on discrimination.
The panel also said the names of groups that have been involved in activities recognized as hate speech should be disclosed to the public, while the city government should offer financial support to victims who have filed lawsuits.
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who received the panel's report the same day, said: "I hope to create a framework (of measures to deal with hate speech) in Osaka, which is said to have the largest number of Korean residents in Japan, and make it spread nationwide."