The United States Embassy in Tokyo on Monday warned of incidents of suspected racial profiling of non-Japanese by Japanese police in a tweet.
Japan is a largely ethnically homogeneous nation with some equating extra immigrants with a rise in crime, though a dwindling and ageing inhabitants has more and more required international labor.
“The US Embassy has received reports of Japanese police intercepting and searching foreigners in suspected racial profiling incidents. Several people were detained, questioned and searched,” the tweet mentioned.
The US Embassy has obtained stories of Japanese police intercepting and looking out foreigners in suspected racial profiling incidents. Many have been detained, questioned and searched. US residents should maintain proof of immigration and request consular notification if detained. pic.twitter.com/a8BkAU7eCR
— US Embassy Tokyo, ACS (@ACSTokyo) December 5, 2021
“US citizens must hold proof of immigration and request consular notification if detained.”
The tweet is an uncommon transfer by the United States, a serious Japanese ally.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy mentioned the embassy had nothing extra so as to add to the tweet, and the nationwide police company couldn’t instantly remark.
Asked concerning the US embassy’s warning, prime authorities spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno mentioned police solely query suspects based mostly on quite a lot of elements, however that choices are usually not based mostly on an individual’s ethnicity or nationality.
Per week in the past, Japan closed its borders to all non-resident foreigners, one of many strongest world measures taken to curb the unfold of the Omicron model of the coronavirus.
Naomi Kawahara, founding father of the advocacy group Japan for Black Lives, mentioned racial profiling by Japanese police is nothing new, particularly for foreigners or Japanese folks of combined race.
“A friend of mine was questioned by the police more than 30 times in six years,” she advised Reuters about her African-American buddy who left Japan a couple of years in the past.
“Sometimes it was in front of his house, because he was about to walk his dog.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
