A 58-year-old official in the city of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, has pointed out that the city's non-Japanese population is larger than the number of registered dogs. He later withdrew the remark after coming under criticism from other assembly members, according to local media reports.
Hiroaki Noguchi, a Liberal Democratic Party assemblyman, made the remark at an assembly session Wednesday when he was asking questions about the number of foreign residents who had failed to pay their taxes, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
After receiving complaints from some assembly members that his remark was inappropriate, Noguchi reportedly apologized, saying he only wanted to illustrate that the number of foreigners living in the city is on the rise. He said he did not mean to discriminate against them, but agreed that the remark was misleading.
He told assembly Chairman Kazunari Inagawa on Thursday that he wished to withdraw the remark, the report said.
On Friday, Inagawa reprimanded Noguchi and decided to delete the remark from assembly minutes and video records, according to the report.
According to the local daily Saitama Shimbun, Noguchi said Wednesday the number of foreign people in the city is increasing, pointing out that the number of dogs registered at the city is 26,000 while the number of foreign residents totals 27,000.
Inagawa told Saitama Shimbun that the remark could be regarded as being discriminatory, adding he believes it is similar to the "Japanese only" banner put up at Saitama Stadium by supporters of Urawa Reds soccer team last year.