SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa -- A municipal government deliberation council here on January 31 agreed on a draft report on a human rights ordinance, including proposals on penalties over hate speech.
The draft report compiled by the city's human rights policy council will include two proposals on penalties on hate speech, one that imposes an administrative fine for malicious acts, and the other that a criminal penalty or an administrative fine will be imposed for such acts. The council will meet again later to go over the details and propose the final report to the Sagamihara Municipal Government.
The Kawasaki Municipal Government enacted the nation's first Anti-hate speech ordinance with criminal penalties in 2019 but according to the Sagamihara Municipal Government, there is no precedent in the country for a similar ordinance that includes administrative fines.
In November of 2019, Sagamihara Mayor Kentaro Motomura consulted the council. Since then, university professors and members of human rights groups have been at odds with each other, but they have struggled to reach a consensus. In October 2022, Motomura announced that he would abandon the idea of enacting the ordinance during fiscal 2022.
The draft report states that unfair, discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, sexual orientation, disability, and other factors will not be tolerated, and that the city will ban such things as using loudspeakers or posting placards in public places.
The draft report mentions the 2016 massacre at Tsukui Yamayuri En, where 45 people were killed or injured in the city, and states that it was a hate crime based on unreasonable discriminatory thinking toward people with disabilities. It also mentions the creation of a human rights commission, a relief organization for victims.
After receiving the report, the city will decide on the details of the ordinance, such as criminal penalties or nonpenal fines, and then collect public comments.