Education groups urge action against ‘Japanese First’ rhetoric in schools
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Supporters of Japan's right-wing populist Sanseito party at an election rally in Tokyo in July.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – Education support groups have urged educators to take action against discrimination of children with foreign roots, warning about the potential spread of the “Japanese First” political rhetoric of the right-wing populist Sanseito party in schools.
With the party gaining support among young people and winning several seats in July’s House of Councillors election
The slogan has been widely criticised as being xenophobic.
In the statement released during the group’s gathering in Okayama in western Japan earlier in August, the group urged education boards across the country to take steps to prevent discrimination.
The group carries out activities to support pupils and students of foreign nationality or roots as well as their parents.
Metanoia, a non-profit organisation that operates Japanese language classes in areas such as Saitama Prefecture’s Kawaguchi, home to many foreign residents, released a set of guidelines on how to protect children from being discriminated against.
The NPO said that in the event a child makes an insensitive remark, parents and teachers should not only explain to the child that it was discriminatory but also take further steps, such as taking note of the comment for future discussions and review.
The group also advised educators to empathise with and offer words of comfort to a child who has been bullied over their ethnicity.
Mr Atsushi Funachi, head of the group, expressed concern that children who have experienced discrimination at elementary school will continue to remember the pain as they get older and move on to new schools.
Even before the election, there had been reports of incidents in which children with foreign roots have been bullied. In one instance, a Kurdish child was told to “go back” to their country.
Many Kurdish people live in Kawaguchi and their large presence in the community has at times made them a target of hate speech. KYODO NEWS
