Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

List of issues prior to submission of the combined twelfth to fourteenth periodic reports of Japan *

General information

1.Please provide information on any significant developments of a legislative, institutional or policy nature that have taken place in the State Party since the previous review and that have contributed to the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular those rights covered by the Convention.

2.Please provide statistics on the demographic composition of the State Party’s population, disaggregated by language, ethnicity and national origin, including on Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent, Burakumin and ethnic minorities and on non-citizens such as asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and migrants, in accordance with the principle of self-identification and taking into account the Committee’s general recommendations No. 8 (1990) and No. 24 (1999) and paragraphs 10 and 12 of its revised reporting guidelines. Please provide statistical information on the socioeconomic conditions and representation of Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent, Burakumin, ethnic minorities and non-citizens in access to education, employment, health, housing, social security benefits, cultural activities, governmental bodies and public and political life, in order to provide an adequate empirical basis for developing, implementing and evaluating policies to enhance the equal enjoyment by all of the rights enshrined in the Convention and facilitate the monitoring thereof. Please indicate the status of the Convention in the domestic legal order and indicate, providing examples, whether it has been or can be directly invoked in domestic courts.

3.Please detail the action taken or planned by the State Party to make the optional declaration provided for in article 14 of the Convention.

4.Please provide information on the programme of activities for the national implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

Article 1

5.While article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality under the law and prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, creed, gender, social status and family origin, please indicate whether there are plans to adopt a comprehensive definition of racial discrimination in national legislation that is fully aligned with article 1 (1) of the Convention, encompassing discrimination on grounds of race, colour, descent and national or ethnic origin, and direct, indirect and intersecting forms of discrimination, taking into account the Committee’s general recommendations No. 1 (1972), No. 7 (1985) and No. 15 (1993) with regard to the preventive value of such legislation.Please provide information on whether the scope of the Act on the Promotion of Efforts to Eliminate Unfair Discriminatory Speech and Behaviour against Persons Originating from Outside Japan (Hate Speech Elimination Act) is being reviewed to ensure that it prohibits all forms of racial discrimination and hate speech, directed at all individuals irrespective of nationality or origin, and whether the State Party plans to amend the Act to introduce sanctions against those responsible and remedies for victims. Please provide information on whether the legal system allows for the adoption of special measures to ensure the adequate advancement of individuals and groups protected by the Convention, including migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, including the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples, and Burakumin, and describe the criteria and safeguards in place to ensure that such measures do not lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different groups. Please indicate whether any laws, regulations or practices differentiate individuals or groups on the basis of citizenship, nationality or migration status, including with regard to access to housing, education, employment, public services and welfare support, and comment on the compatibility of such distinctions with article 1 (2) and (3) of the Convention.

6.Please provide updated information on steps taken or planned to enact comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation prohibiting and penalizing acts covered under the Convention, and on mechanisms available for victims of racial discrimination to seek redress and remedy, including through the courts or other independent bodies.

Article 2

7.Please outline the legal framework, policies, strategies and other measures in place to eliminate racial discrimination and to give effect to article 2 of the Convention. In particular, please provide information on steps taken since 2016 to adopt comprehensive national anti‑discrimination legislation that explicitly prohibits all forms of racial discrimination in the public and the private sphere, beyond the limited scope of the Hate Speech Elimination Act. Please also indicate whether such legislation would include remedies for victims and sanctions against perpetrators.

8.Please provide information on specific measures taken to ensure the equal protection from racial discrimination of all persons in Japan, including foreign nationals, refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, Indigenous Peoples, including the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples, Burakumin and people of African descent. Please describe whether the State Party has considered adopting a national action plan on combating racism and racial discrimination, as recommended by civil society and in line with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

9.Please provide information on whether the Human Rights Bureau of the Ministry of Justice has the independence, mandate and resources to investigate and remedy cases of racial discrimination, including hate speech and hate crimes, and whether there are plans to establish an independent national human rights institution in full compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). Please include any follow-up to the Government’s statements in 2023, during the universal periodic review of the State Party, regarding the review of frameworks for a human rights remedy system and indicate whether the State has sought technical cooperation from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in this regard.

10.Please provide information on and examples of cases in which the Convention or the Hate Speech Elimination Act have been invoked before the courts, administrative bodies or the consultation mechanisms of the Ministry of Justice. Please include statistics on complaints, investigations, findings and remedies, disaggregated by grounds of discrimination.

11.Please provide information on measures taken to protect the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, including with regard to the implementation of the 2023 and 2024 amendments to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which introduced provisions on deportation after multiple asylum applications and the revocation of permanent residence for non-payment of taxes. Please indicate how these provisions comply with articles 2 (1) and 5 of the Convention and with the principle of non-refoulement.

12.Please provide information as to whether the State Party has considered revising the Act on the Promotion of the Elimination of Buraku Discrimination (2016) to include a clear definition of Burakumin. Please describe the steps taken to ensure the implementation of the Act and the monitoring mechanisms in place. Please provide information on investigations into cases of the abuse of family registration data and the measures taken to ensure the confidentiality of personal data, and indicate whether such data are classed as “sensitive personal information” under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information. Please indicate whether perpetrators of online or offline discriminatory conduct against Buraku persons have been prosecuted and sanctions imposed.

13.Please describe the steps taken to ensure that administrative decisions and public programmes do not discriminate on the basis of nationality or migration status, including in access to public assistance, social welfare, medical care and education. Please provide information on the effects of the exclusion from public assistance of many foreign non‑permanent residents and persons without valid residency status.

14.Please describe institutional arrangements for consultation with and the participation of ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, Burakumin and migrant communities in the design and evaluation of policies on anti-discrimination and human rights, including mechanisms to ensure the representation of the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples in the relevant governmental councils or decision-making bodies.

Article 4

15.Please provide information as to whether the State Party’s criminal legislation is fully in accordance with the provisions of article 4 of the Convention, covering all the grounds set out in article 1 (1). In particular, please indicate whether the Penal Code or other relevant laws expressly criminalize:

(a)All dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred and incitement to racial discrimination;

(b)All acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any group of persons on the above grounds;

(c)The provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing thereof;

(d)Organizations that promote or incite racial discrimination, including participation therein.

16.Please indicate whether the State Party has reviewed its longstanding reservation to article 4 (a) and (b) of the Convention and provide details of any examination undertaken with a view to withdrawing or narrowing the reservation, including a timeline for completion.

17.Please provide information on any plans to amend the Hate Speech Elimination Act to ensure that it: (a) prohibits hate speech targeting all individuals, regardless of nationality or origin; (b) establishes administrative or criminal sanctions for perpetrators; and (c) provides effective remedies for victims. Please also clarify whether the Ministry of Justice has conducted an evaluation of the Act’s impact since its adoption, including disaggregated data on the number of complaints received through its human rights consultation services.

18.Please provide updated information on measures taken to prevent and punish hate speech and hate crimes, including:

(a)Statistics on reported incidents of hate crimes, prosecutions and convictions, disaggregated by type of offence and by the ethnic or national origin of victims;

(b)Measures to ensure that racial motives are recognized as aggravating circumstances in sentencing;

(c)Guidelines or training provided to law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judges on identifying and investigating racially motivated crimes.

19.Please provide information on specific measures taken to address hate speech and discriminatory remarks by public figures, including elected officials and media personalities, particularly during election periods. Please indicate whether there are any codes of conduct, disciplinary procedures or other accountability mechanisms in place for such cases.

20.Please describe the measures adopted to monitor and counter online hate speech and hate-motivated disinformation, including mechanisms for cooperation with social media platforms and the application of the 2024 Act on Measures against Infringement of Rights through the Distribution of Information by Specified Telecommunications. Please indicate whether this act has been used to address hate speech directed at groups or individuals on grounds prohibited under article 1 (1) of the Convention.

21.Please indicate whether the State Party has mechanisms in place to systematically collect, analyse and publish data on hate speech and racist incidents, including those reported to police, municipal authorities or civil society organizations. Please describe any cooperation with local governments that have adopted anti-discrimination ordinances, such as in the city of Kawasaki, and whether best practices from such initiatives are being disseminated nationally.

Article 5

22.Please provide updated information on legislative, judicial and administrative measures taken to ensure the equal enjoyment of rights protected under article 5 of the Convention, without discrimination, by all persons in Japan, including foreign nationals, refugees, stateless persons, ethnic minorities, Burakumin, people of African descent and Indigenous Peoples, such as the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples. In particular, please indicate whether the State Party intends to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination act or national action plan covering all sectors.

23.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure equal access to justice for non-citizens, ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples and stateless persons, including the availability of interpretation services and public legal aid. Please include statistics on complaints and cases involving allegations of racial discrimination decided by courts or administrative bodies, and on remedies granted to victims. Please also indicate whether asylum-seekers and migrants held in immigration detention or on provisional release have effective access to judicial review and to independent complaint mechanisms.

24.Please provide information on steps taken to guarantee participation in public life and decision-making for long-term and special permanent residents, including Zainichi Koreans, who remain excluded from the right to vote in local elections and from appointment to most public-service posts despite findings by the Supreme Court that such participation is constitutionally permissible. Please clarify whether the Government has reviewed the opinion issued by the Cabinet Legislation Bureau in 1953 in which the Bureau establishing the so‑called general legal principle that Japanese nationality is required for the exercise of public authority. Please also provide statistics, disaggregated by prefecture and position, on non‑citizen local-government employees and teachers, and indicate whether they enjoy conditions of employment equivalent to those of Japanese nationals.

25.Please describe measures taken to prevent racially motivated violence and hate crimes, including those targeting persons belonging to Chinese and Korean minorities, foreign workers, refugees, Buraku persons, people of African descent and the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples, and to ensure effective investigation, prosecution and remedies for victim. Please specify whether racial or ethnic motives are recognized as an aggravating circumstance under the Penal Code, and provide statistics on complaints, indictments and convictions related to hate crimes since 2018.

26.Please provide information on measures taken to prevent discrimination against foreign nationals, Burakumin, ethnic minorities and Indigenous Peoples in the context of recruitment, working conditions and career advancement, including in public employment. In particular, please clarify how the Government monitors compliance with article 3 of the Labour Standards Act, which prohibits discrimination based on nationality, and whether sanctions have been imposed for violations. Please also provide details of reforms replacing the Technical Intern Training Programme with the Employment for Skill Development system, indicating how the new system addresses exploitation, excessive recruitment fees and restrictions on changing employers that have led to human rights violations.

27.Please provide information on the specific measures taken or planned to ensure that the rights of non-citizens with permanent resident status are fully protected in practice in the implementation of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, as amended, and to ensure that permanent resident status will not be revoked merely for forgetting to carry a residence card or to file an application for its renewal or for other minor infringement of laws and ordinances.

28.Please provide information on measures taken to combat discrimination against foreign nationals in access to housing and social security benefits. Please clarify whether the public assistance scheme applies equally to all residents, irrespective of nationality, and indicate the number of foreign households receiving such assistance, disaggregated by residency status. Please also provide information on the effects of the exclusion of many non‑permanent residents and persons without valid residency status from welfare and medical coverage.

29.Please provide updated information on steps taken to ensure equal educational opportunities for children belonging to ethnic minorities and Indigenous Peoples and for children who are non-citizens, including those attending Korean, Brazilian or international schools. Please include information on measures to guarantee that Korean schools are not discriminated against with regard to funding from the High School Tuition Support Fund and that local government subsidies are maintained or reinstated. Please also indicate whether the national curriculum incorporates education on the culture, language and history of ethnic minorities, including Chinese and Korean communities and the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples. Please further clarify how the State Party guarantees access to compulsory education for children of undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers, and whether there have been recent cases of school refusal of such children.

30.Please provide information on access to public health insurance, medical care and reproductive health services for non-citizens, asylum-seekers and persons without residency status. Please describe any policies to ensure that hospitals and clinics do not impose higher fees or deny treatment to such persons, and provide data on the number of foreign residents covered under the National Health Insurance scheme.

31.Please provide information on measures, including any legal amendments, to protect female migrant workers, particularly those recruited by private agencies, from dismissal or forced return by employers due to pregnancy.

32.Please describe the efforts made by the State Party to consider its position regarding the recognition of the Ryukyu/Okinawa as an Indigenous People and the specific barriers preventing the State Party from giving legal or constitutional recognition and protection to the Ryukyu/Okinawa, who self-identify as an Indigenous People. Please include information on how the principles of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 23 (1997) are integrated into the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Achieve a Society in Which the Pride of the Ainu People Is Respected (2019). Please describe the steps taken to ensure the implementation of the Act and the monitoring mechanisms in place. Furthermore, please provide information on measures taken to recognize and protect the rights of the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples:

(a)To own and control their communal lands and territories;

(b)To engage freely in their traditional economic activities, including hunting and fishing, in particular salmon fishing in rivers;

(c)To be consulted and to give their free, prior and informed consent before the adoption of decisions that affect their lands, rights and interests, in particular the development of renewable energy and conservation projects and military bases.

33.Please provide information on consultations undertaken with the Ryukyu/Okinawa people in relation to the construction of a military base of the United States of America in Okinawa, including in the area of Henoko and Oura Bay, and on environmental and human rights impact assessments conducted and mitigation measures taken with a view to protecting their environment and traditional ways of life. Please provide information on measures taken to protect the right to health of the Ryukyu/Okinawa people from contamination with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances found in the areas surrounding the United States air bases in Futenma and Kadena.

34.Please give information on the measures taken to preserve Indigenous languages – particularly those declared endangered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – and cultural heritage and to repatriate the human remains of both the Ainu and the Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples. Please also provide data on Ainu and Ryukyuan representation in consultative bodies, including the Council for Ainu Policy Promotion.

35.Please describe the measures taken to promote intercultural understanding and to eliminate racist stereotypes in the media, education and political discourse. Please include examples of government or local authority awareness-raising campaigns and cooperation with media organizations to counter online hate speech. Please indicate whether such programmes involve consultation with minority communities, Indigenous Peoples and civil society organizations.

36.Please provide information on complaint mechanisms available to victims of racial discrimination, including through the Human Rights Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and local consultation offices. Please provide data on the number of complaints received, the nature of alleged violations and the outcomes, including any disciplinary or judicial action taken. Please also describe any measures taken to raise awareness among affected communities about these mechanisms and to ensure accessibility, particularly for non‑Japanese speakers and persons with irregular migration status.

37.Please provide information on the steps taken to address multiple and intersecting forms of racial and gender-based discrimination, particularly against women belonging to minorities, migrant women workers and Ainu, Ryukyuan and Buraku women. Please include data on the complaints received and remedies granted and describe the measures taken to ensure the participation of victims in decision-making processes.

38.Please provide information on the measures taken to address the lasting consequences of the sexual exploitation of foreign “comfort women” by the Japanese military during the Second World War, to acknowledge legal responsibility, to preserve the memory of victims and to condemn attempts at defamation or denial. Please provide updated information on the measures taken to ensure access for victims to the truth, justice, redress and reparation.

Article 6

39.Please provide updated information on the legislative, judicial and administrative mechanisms available to individuals and groups who allege violations of the rights protected under the Convention, including information on the procedures followed and powers held by the Human Rights Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and local human rights offices and the outcomes of complaints handled by them. Please include data, disaggregated by year, sex and nationality, on: (a) the number of complaints of racial discrimination received; (b) the investigations initiated; (c) findings of violations; and (d) remedies granted, including compensation or recommendations issued to the relevant authorities.

40.Please describe the measures taken to ensure that such mechanisms are accessible, particularly to foreign nationals, refugees and stateless persons who may face linguistic or cultural barriers. Please specify whether interpretation and translation services are available throughout the processes involved and whether information on complaint mechanisms is disseminated in multiple languages.

41.Please indicate whether the State Party intends to establish an independent national human rights institution in full compliance with the Paris Principles, with competence to receive and investigate complaints of racial discrimination and provide binding or enforceable remedies. Please include information on any consultations with the Diet, civil society organizations or OHCHR in this regard.

42.Please provide examples of court cases in which victims of racial discrimination have successfully obtained redress or compensation, including the nature of the discrimination, the legal basis for the judgment and the remedies granted. If there have been no such cases, please clarify the reasons for the absence of jurisprudence, including whether victims face procedural or evidentiary barriers to bringing claims under existing law.

43.Please explain whether civil or criminal law provisions allow for collective complaints or class actions in cases involving widespread racial discrimination, and whether public‑interest organizations or the Prosecutor General may bring cases on behalf of victims.

44.Please provide information on training and capacity-building programmes for judges, prosecutors and lawyers on the Convention, international human rights law and the identification and adjudication of cases of racial discrimination.

45.Please provide information on mechanisms in place to ensure that victims of hate speech, hate crimes or discrimination in employment, housing or education obtain prompt and adequate reparation, including rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition. Please indicate whether compensation schemes exist for victims of hate-motivated violence and whether the courts consider racial motives as a factor in awarding damages.

46.Please clarify whether the Immigration Services Agency provides administrative remedy or offers appeals procedures for foreign nationals alleging discrimination in immigration detention, deportation or the determination of refugee status, and indicate the number and outcomes of such appeals.

47.Please describe any steps taken to ensure that victims of discrimination have access to psychosocial, medical and social support services, and whether such services are financed or coordinated by the Government or by local authorities.

48.Please provide information on follow-up mechanisms established to monitor the implementation of recommendations made by domestic or international bodies in cases involving racial discrimination, including recommendations by the Committee, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and under the universal periodic review.

Article 7

49.Please provide updated information on the legislative, administrative and educational measures taken to combat prejudice and promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among racial or ethnic groups, in accordance with article 7 of the Convention. Please include examples of national and local public awareness campaigns implemented since 2020 to counter hate speech, xenophobia and online incitement to discrimination, and indicate their coverage and impact.

50.Please describe how human rights education is integrated into the Basic Act on Education and related curricula, including teaching on equality, non-discrimination and the obligations of the State Party under the Convention. Please provide information on cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Justice on education against hate speech.

51.Please indicate whether teaching materials at all educational levels include balanced information on the histories and cultures of minorities and Indigenous Peoples, including the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa peoples, Buraku communities and Zainichi Koreans. Please include details of any curriculum reviews, new textbooks or teacher-training programmes covering these topics.

52.Please provide information on measures to ensure that children belonging to ethnic minorities, Indigenous children and children of foreign origin have access to education reflecting their language and culture. Please include data on:

(a)The number of schools providing instruction in minority languages, instruction in Ainu and Ryukyuan languages or bilingual education;

(b)The extent to which ethnic classes and after-school programmes for children belonging to minorities receive national or local funding;

(c)Support provided by the central Government to local authorities, such as in the city of Osaka, that operate such programmes.

53.Please clarify the measures taken to guarantee equality of treatment for students attending Korean schools, including their eligibility for funding from the High School Tuition Support Fund and local government subsidies, and to ensure that political or diplomatic factors do not affect access to educational funding.

54.Please describe initiatives to promote the participation of minorities and non-citizens in higher education and research, including scholarships, admission policies and support for international students. In particular, please provide information on any review of the eligibility criteria for foreign doctoral students under the Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation (SPRING) research-grant programme following policy changes in 2025.

55.Please provide information on the steps taken to promote training for teachers, police officers and civil servants on the prevention of racial discrimination and on cultural diversity. Please include information on training materials developed jointly with the National Police Agency, the Immigration Services Agency or civil society organizations.

56.Please describe the measures taken to ensure that media outlets refrain from disseminating hate speech or racially biased content, and that journalists and broadcasters receive training on the ethical coverage of minorities and migrants. Please include information on cooperation between the Government, the Broadcasting Ethics and Programme Improvement Organization and social media companies to monitor and remove online hate content.

57.Please provide examples of public-awareness programmes aimed at promoting intercultural understanding and solidarity, including those celebrating Ainu, Ryukyuan and Korean cultural heritage. Please describe how such initiatives are developed in consultation with the communities concerned and whether they are supported by national or prefectural budgets.

58.Please provide information on monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to assess the impact of education and media initiatives on reducing prejudice, and on how data collected are used to inform future policies.

59.Please provide information on the specific measures taken in the framework of the International Decade for People of African Descent.