Foreign-born citizens in Japan file suit against police over racial profiling: ‘they think I’m a criminal’

A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, launched a civil lawsuit against the country’s police on Monday, accusing the authorities of racial profiling and discrimination and demanding an end to the alleged practice.

One of the three plaintiffs, Syed Zain, a 26-year-old Japanese citizen of Pakistani descent, says he has been repeatedly stopped by police, including getting searched in front of his home. He has lived in Japan for two decades, attended Japanese schools and is fluent in the language, he said.

“They don’t recognise us as a Japanese,” he said of the police. “From the first moment, they think I’m a criminal.”

The three plaintiffs are demanding 3 million yen (US$20,000) each in punitive damages over “unconstitutional and illegal” treatment, plus 300,000 yen (US$2,000) per plaintiff in lawyer fees.

“Racial profiling is nothing but discrimination on the basis of race, nationality and colour,” their claim alleges.

One of the other plaintiffs, Matthew, a man of Indian descent who has lived in Japan for more than 20 years and holds permanent residency, said he had been questioned by police countless times. He said he is afraid to go out for fear of being stopped again.

“I never knew what social withdrawal was until recently,” he said, declining to provide his surname for fear of harassment.

“I feel like every time I finish work, I’m hiding in my house.”

Over 1 in 25 Tokyo residents are now foreigners as Japan population tumbles

Maurice, an American who did not provide his surname, said he hoped to raise awareness of the issue among Japanese people and make life easier for others.

“I want them [Japanese people] to understand that this is an everyday occurrence, it’s an everyday thing, and that we have to do something to prevent that,” he said.

The complaint targets the government as well as the national, Tokyo and Aichi prefectural police departments. There has been no immediate comment by the authorities.

The plaintiffs claim that getting stopped by police for apparently no reason violates the Japanese constitution, which provides equality under the law and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race. They also say it goes against international treaties Japan has signed.

Motoki Taniguchi, one the lawyers representing the three, said it was difficult for foreigners or Japanese of non-Japanese ancestry to sue the government because of their concerns about being targeted by police.

“Racial profiling is nothing but discrimination on the basis of race, nationality and colour,” their claim alleges.

Hearings in the case are expected to last about a year.

Japan’s reliance on foreign workers increases amid deepening labour shortage

The case, to be heard in Tokyo District Court, comes as Japan in recent years has seen an influx of workers from abroad. The number of non-Japanese living in Japan reached a record high last year, at nearly 3 million people.

It is the first such lawsuit in Japan, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and comes amid a sharp rise in the number of foreign workers coming to the country to help stem labour shortages as its population ages and declines.

It also comes amid a renewed debate over what it means to be and look Japanese, after a Ukrainian-born, naturalised Japanese citizen was crowned Miss Japan last week.

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Efforts have been growing lately to increase diversity in Japan, with more businesses tapping women executives, and global companies tending to have more non-Japanese representation, said Daisuke Uchida, professor of business at Keio University.

“What’s started is still just a tiny step,” he said.

The complaint targets the government as well as the national, Tokyo and Aichi prefectural police departments. There has been no immediate comment by the authorities.