Foreign-born residents sue Japan for racial profiling

Three foreign-born residents in Japan have sued the country’s authorities over alleged racial profiling. The plaintiffs say they have suffered distress from repeated police questioning based on their appearances.

“There’s a very strong image that ‘foreigner’ equals ‘criminal’,” Pakistan-born Syed Zain told reporters. The lawsuit filed on Monday aims to confirm that racial profiling is illegal and to seek 3m yen ($20,250; £15,740) in damages for each plaintiff.

This is the first such lawsuit in Japan, according to the men’s lawyer, Motoki Taniguchi.

Mr Zain, who is a Pakistan-born Japanese citizen, has lived in Japan for two decades, went to school there and is fluent in Japanese. The 26-year-old told a press conference on Monday that he has often been stopped, questioned and searched by police.

“The time has come to rethink the way police questioning is handled.” he said.

The UN defines racial profiling as “the process by which law enforcement relies on generalisations based on one’s race, skin colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.

Credit: bbc.com

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