"一審勝訴した今も「ハラスメント文書」配布やまず…フジ住宅を提訴「在日女性」の苦悩", 25 Jan 2021

[Japanese-to-English translation by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.]

…A zainichi Korean woman, Ms. A…, living in Osaka has filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for damages against her employer, Fuji Corporation Limited, and its chairman.

She alleges that the company distributed materials that severely attack the dignity of people of Chinese, South Korean, and North Korean nationality, including zainichi Koreans [permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan], as well as people of Korean descent. For example, the materials said that these individuals “should die”and that they were “liars”, “sneaky”, and “wild animals”. Furthermore, the woman has long been pained by the company’s chairman, who has urged employees to answer a questionnaire distributed by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, which is calling for the selection of a middle school textbook published by Ikuhosha.

In January 2015, Ms. A filed a complaint with the company, asking that it cease distributing materials that denigrate specific ethnicities. However, Fuji Corporation Limited continued to do so. She ultimately decided to file a lawsuit against her employer when it proposed that she resign after she sought an Osaka lawyers association regarding remedy for human rights abuses.

In July 2020, the Osaka District Court ruled in favor of Ms. A, ordering the company and its chairman pay 1.1 million yen [approximately $10,400] in damages. Despite the ruling, she claims that the company has continued to distribute derogatory materials. As a result, Ms. A filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo High Court in November 2020…