About 70% of foreign nationals in Japan have been subjected to police questioning on the streets in the past five years — nearly six times more than Japanese — a survey released by lawyers in a racial profiling case showed Wednesday.

It is the first time a survey has been conducted to compare police questioning between foreign nationals and Japanese, lawyer Motoki Taniguchi said in a news conference.

The lawyers plan to submit the results as evidence for the court in an ongoing civil case between the plaintiffs — a foreign-born naturalized citizen and two foreign residents — who allege they were racially profiled by police, and the central and local governments.