First Japanese bill outlawing racism and hate speech submitted to Upper House

A group of lawmakers made history Friday by submitting a bill to the Upper House that would outlaw racism and hate speech.

Sponsored by lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Japan and Social Democratic Party, the bill would prohibit all forms of racial discrimination, including hate speech, and places responsibility on the state and municipalities to eliminate racism.

The bill is the first anti-discrimination legislation of its kind in Japan and signals that its decadeslong failure to follow through on its signing of the 1969 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination may be coming to an end.