Discrimination by Policemen

This is an embarrassing appearance of discrimination inherent in deep in the heart of the Japanese. Two policemen guarding construction site for new helipad of United States Force in Takae, Okinawa, hurled dirty words on the protestors staying in front of the gate on Wednesday, the scene which was broadcast to all over Japan. While government officials regretted that inappropriate attitude of those policemen, some politicians were compassionate toward them.

As well as in Henoko where U.S. and Japanese governments are constructing new military base, Takae is known as the place of protests of the people in Okinawa. The protestors were making sit-in in front of the gate of Takae site to disturb bringing materials for construction. Most of them were members of teachers union in Okinawa. Riot squads from other places in Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka or Aichi, were guarding there helping Okinawa Prefectural Police.

They were policemen from Osaka Prefectural Police in their age of 20s, who pronounced discriminative words to the protestors. “What are you grabbing, jerk, you aborigine?” said a policeman to a protestor touching the fence. “Shut up, hey you Sino-people,” said another policeman. The video footage was recorded by a novelist in the protest, Shun Metoruma, who had won a famous literature award in Japan.

Their nasty behavior was based on a frustration with protests against national policy. “Aborigine” represented a sentiment that distinguished the protestors from ordinary people who silently abided by the decision of politics made in Tokyo. There are some cases in cyber space to call the people in Okinawa and Fukushima aborigine. “Sino-people” represented the notion that the protest in Okinawa was benefiting China. But, there is a traditional discrimination on the Chinese from the time when Japan colonized China. Sino-people is an intensive expression of looking down the Chinese.

Commissioner General of National Police Agency, Masayoshi Sakaguchi, regretted the case with promise of stronger control on the personnel. “It cannot be tolerated,” told Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga. “I have firm anger on it, which was unpardonable and thoroughly intolerable,” said Governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga.

One unique figure on this issue was the boss of those policemen, Governor of Osaka, Ichiro Matsui. “Even though the expression was inappropriate, I understood that policemen from Osaka was diligently working under the order. Thank you for that,” tweeted Matsui. It is remarkable that abusing protestors with discriminative words, fueling anger in Okinawa and make the base issue further complicated were official duty of policemen from Osaka. Osaka is one of the places in Japan where social discrimination is still deeply rooted. Discrimination is always goes not to the discriminators but to the weaker people.