U.N. to review issue of hate speech against Koreans in Japan

The United Nations' committee on racial discrimination plans to review this month whether rampant hate speech in Japan against Koreans living there constitute a violation of the international convention aimed at eliminating discrimination based on race, government officials said Tuesday.

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is planning to raise the issue of Japanese rightist activists' hate speech targeting Korean residents in Japan when they review Japan's implementation of the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination for three weeks starting Aug. 11, according to the officials.

The plan comes amid growing concerns over frequent anti-Korean protests and loudspeaker speeches on the streets of Japan especially as South Korea and Japan are dealing with unusually icy diplomatic relations over issues stemming from their shared history. Japan is home to a large-size population of South and North Korean nationals, who or whose parents went over to the neighboring country before or during Japan's colonial control of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45.

The international convention, which took effect in 1969, requires its parties to outlaw hate speech based on racial prejudices.

The committee is expected to publish its stance on the review in its report to be issued for Japan at the end of the three-week review session.

"During the review, whether the increasing number of hate speech against Koreans in Japan constitute racial discrimination will be mentioned," the officials said. "This means a lot to Korean nationals residing in Japan and the government will closely follow the discussion." (Yonhap)