Citing racial slurs by politicians and biased news reports playing up an increase in crimes committed by foreigners, participants in a Tokyo symposium called Thursday for a legal framework that would eradicate racial discrimination in Japan.
A project team of Tokyo Bar Association lawyers trying to promote a law against racial discrimination unveiled at the forum a draft ordinance they hope serves as a sample for local governments -- and eventually a national law.
The ordinance states that racial discrimination is a "barrier" that threatens peace, and aims to ban such acts and create a support system for those who have been subject to such bias.