Introduction　

Under the Police Duties Execution Law, police questioning is permitted only when there is "sufficient probable cause(*)". However, despite the internationalization of Japanese society, there have still been a large number of complaints from people “with a foreign appearance” who have experienced racially discriminatory police questioning even in the absence of sufficient probable cause.

Some people say that they have been questioned by the police several times a day just for walking, that they were subjected to police questioning ever since they were in junior high school, or that they get scared and start shaking when they see a police officer. Racial profiling has a human cost. When a person is confronted to racial profiling over and over in their lifetime, this can lead to a profound sense of not belonging to Japanese society. One of the plaintiffs in this case, who used to be a sociable person, gradually lost his smile and started to live as a shut-in as a result of repeated encounters with police questioning.

Being treated as a criminal or a potential criminal by police officers merely because one appears “foreign” is a serious violation of human rights and undermines human dignity. 

We have decided to file a lawsuit against the government and the prefectures that have jurisdiction over metropolitan and prefectural police departments, demanding the abolition of the systemic practice of racially discriminatory police questioning, a practice that we deem inappropriate within our diverse society.

　Plaintiffs’ Personal Experiences　 

Mr. Zain 

Mr. Zain was born in Pakistan and came to Japan at the age of 8. He obtained Japanese citizenship with his family at the age of 13. As a Japanese citizen, he is not obliged to carry a passport and does not have a residence card. However, Mr. Zain has been repeatedly questioned by the police on the basis of his "foreign-looking" appearance.

In April and September 2023, he was questioned by a police officer in front of his house. He told the officer that he was a Japanese citizen, but the officer was not convinced. The officer asked him to show his residence card and passport, and then searched his belongings.

Mr. Zain has been subjected to such police questioning about a total of 15 times, sometimes twice a day. He said that every time he is questioned by a police officer, he feels as if he is a criminal.

Mr. Shelton

Mr. Matthew

Background of the Lawsuit　

The term “racial profiling” first came to attention in Japan in 2021. In January of that year, a video of a man who was subjected to racial profiling on the grounds that "many people with dreadlocks are drug users" went viral on social media. In June, a Muslim mother and her child were unfairly questioned by police officers and in December, the U.S. Embassy issued a tweet warning U.S. citizens against suspected incidents of racial profiling by the Japanese police.

Subsequent investigations have also revealed that there are many people of foreign descent who have been subjected to racial profiling.

According to the "2021 Survey on Police Questioning of People with Foreign Roots (Racial Profiling)” conducted by the Tokyo Bar Association in 2022 (2,094 respondents), 62.9% of respondents had been questioned by the police in the past five years. Out of these, 85.4% replied that the police officers perceived them as having foreign origins, and 76.9% said that there was no sufficient probable cause to suspect that they committed or were about to commit a crime. Some respondents declared: "as soon as they found out I was a foreigner, their attitude and language became arrogant," "as soon as they found out I was a Japanese citizen, their attitude became polite," and "they said my hairstyle and clothing were suspicious."

Some police officers claim that they frequently question people of foreign origin due to the “high crime rate” of foreigners. However, there is no objective data to support such a claim.　

According to a journalist's analysis of the 2021 White Paper on Crime (edited by the Ministry of Justice Research and Training Institute) and other resources, there is no significant difference between the crime rates of foreigners and Japanese (Machi Kunizaki, 「取材から見えた、日本のレイシャルプロファイリング現在地」"Interviews reveal the reality of racial profiling in Japan today," in Moe Miyashita (ed.) レイシャル・プロファイリング　警察による人種差別を問う Racial Profiling: Questioning Racial Discrimination by the Police, 2023, Ōtsuki Shoten).

Racial profiling has come under scrutiny of the international community since longer. In 2009, the UN Human Rights Committee declared that racial profiling constitutes unlawful discrimination, and in November 2020, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted General Comment No.36 on preventing and combating racial profiling by law enforcement officials. 

Against this backdrop, Japan does not have any anti-discrimination law, nor any laws or guidelines aimed at preventing racial profiling. To date, we have yet to see any willingness to legislate in this regard.  

Some internal police guidelines even encourage racial profiling. For instance, a field training manual of the Aichi Prefectural Police for junior police officers states the following: 

The reality of this kind of systemic practice within the police ranks results from the fact that this problem has been left unchecked in Japan for many years.

　Points in Dispute　 

We claim that the practice of racially discriminatory police questioning is unconstitutional and illegal and demand the following: 

• State compensation for racially discriminatory police questioning (racial profiling)

• Request for confirmation of illegality regarding systemic practice of racially discriminatory police questioning

• Request for confirmation of the State’s obligation to control and supervise police operations for the prevention of racially discriminatory police questioning

The legal basis for such claims are as follows:

1.　Violation of the Constitution

Article 14 of the Constitution provides for equality before the law and expressly prohibits

discrimination on the basis of race. Factors such as race, nationality, and skin color are not indicatives of criminal propensity. Therefore, there is no rationality in considering the appearance factor of “looking foreign” for the purpose of crime detection. This systemic practice makes people of foreign origin living in Japan feel as if they are not allowed to live in Japan, and has the harmful effect of generating a sense of discrimination.

In addition, the second sentence of Article 13 of the Constitution stipulates that "Th[e] right [of all of the people] to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall, to the extent that it does not interfere with the public welfare, be the supreme consideration in legislation and in other governmental affairs.” However, as stated above, questioning someone based on their appearance merely because they “look like a foreigner” is not reasonable and violates Article 13 of the Constitution.

2.　Violation of international treaties

⑴ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Japan is a signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial

Discrimination ("Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination"). Article 2 of the Convention requires the State and public authorities to eliminate racial discrimination. Furthermore, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's General Recommendation No. 36 (2020) on Preventing and Combating Racial Profiling by Law Enforcement Officials also clearly states that: "As racial profiling is a practice that has the potential to promote and perpetuate racist incidents and racial prejudice and stereotypes, it runs counter to the very idea of the Convention. Accordingly, States parties are obliged to review their policies, laws and regulations with a view to ensuring that racial profiling does not take place and is not facilitated. States parties are obliged to actively take steps to eliminate discrimination through laws, policies and institutions.”

⑵ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Japan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("the Covenant"). Article 26 of the Covenant states that "All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” Racial profiling is nothing but discrimination on the basis of race, nationality and color and hence violates the said Article.

　Request for Donations　 

Racial profiling deeply undermines human dignity, stigmatizing those who are subjected to it and suggesting that they don’t belong in Japan. Above all, racial profiling is one of the most pernicious forms of discrimination in the sense that it is intentional racial discrimination by a public authority.

Through this trial, we hope to prompt a broader social discussion about racial profiling in Japanese society and to advocate for changes in institutional police practices. Please support us in our efforts to realize a society where people of foreign origin in Japan can live in peace.

　Use of Donations　 

• Litigation expenses：actual expenses for stamps, photocopies, etc.

• Opinion writing expenses for scholars：Given the specialized nature of this field, we plan to engage constitutional law scholars, administrative law scholars, and other experts to write opinion letters.

• Evidencing overseas knowledge：We are considering conducting interviews and obtaining written opinions from overseas experts. This will require translation fees and standard honorarium expenses.

• Travel expenses for lawyers, plaintiffs, etc.：We plan to use the donation to cover travel expenses for plaintiffs and some of their lawyers to appear at the trial, as well as for experts and others traveling toTokyo.

• Publicity and events：We would like to use the donation to cover publicity and events associated with the trial.

• Legal fees：We would like to use the donation to cover the legal counsels' start-up fees, contingency fees, daily travel expenses, and related costs.

　Legal Counsel Team　

Motoki Taniguchi (Tokyo Public Law Office)
Tomoko Uraki (Shinwa Law Office)
Moe Miyashita (Tono, Tanami & Kosada Legal Professional Corporation, Tokyo Office)
Yoshiyuki Nishi (Goto & Shin-yu Law Office)
Michiko Kameishi (Law Office Eclat Umeda)
Daisuke Igeta (Miyamura and Igeta Law Offices)
Yoshitaka Toda (Law Office LEDGE)

　Message from the Legal Counsel Team　

Despite being entrusted to "protect" the safety of citizens, police officers often subject individuals to unwarranted "surveillance" merely based on their "foreign" or "foreign-looking" appearance, even when there is no evidence of suspicious activity.

—— Is it right for us to accept a society that permits such conduct?

The accounts of numerous individuals who have experienced racial profiling highlight the pain, fear, and frustration caused by discrimination at the hands of the public authority. Racial profiling undermines human dignity, and it is a pervasive issue that demands rectification.

The message that “racial profiling is a problem that needs to be corrected” can be effectively conveyed through the judiciary — one of the three branches of power. Utilizing judiciary has the potential to bring about substantial change in society even on a global scale.

Together, let us strive towards creating a society that unequivocally rejects discrimination.

Moe Miyashita, Attorney at Law

　About LEDGE　 

This lawsuit is supported by LEDGE. LEDGE is Japan's first citizen-donation-based public interest litigation group dedicated to human rights advocacy and social change. (Some of the lawyers in this lawsuit are members of LEDGE.)

(From the left) Daisuke Igeta, Orie Maruyama, Yoshitaka Toda, Clarisse Ikeda, Motoki Taniguchi, and Michiko Kameishi

Ways to Support

1. Make a donation
・You can make a donation by clicking the orange ‘Support a Case’ button. Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

2. Join our petition campaign on change.org
・Show your support by signing our online petition
   -"Stop racially discriminatory police questioning" (change.org)

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