French-speaking professors and translators Monday sued the Tokyo Metropolitan Government over disparaging remarks made by Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, claiming his derogatory comment about their language was "neglectful and appalling."
The 74 plaintiffs, including foreign nationals residing in France and Canada, are each demanding compensation of 50,000 yen and a public apology from the metro government.
In a meeting with support organizations of Tokyo Metropolitan University in October 2004, Ishihara said, "French is disqualified as an international language because it is a language that cannot count numbers," according to the suit.