There is a tendency for hate towards Kurds in Saitama to be “more prevalent among internet users than among local residents，” with YouTube influencing the threats and harassment Nomura Shoji ．

Kawaguchi City in southern Saitama Prefecture. In this town, a Kurdish man (35) runs a restaurant, and a man’s abusive voice can be heard on the phone.
Harassing phone calls can ring all day long. In addition, people outside the store yelled at them to “get out of Japan,” and a YouTuber secretly filmed a video of them coming into the store and posting it online. To protect himself, the man began recording his phone calls and installed security cameras inside the store.

The Kurds are known as “the world’s largest ethnic group without a country.” They live in countries such as Turkiye and Syria in the Middle East, but because they are ethnic minorities, they suffer discrimination and oppression and have fled their homelands. It is said that there are 2,000 to 3,000 Kurds living in Japan. Most are from Turkiye, and many live in Kawaguchi City and neighboring Warabi City. Hate against Kurds is increasing in that town.
When the Kurdish man was 15 years old, he came to Japan to meet his father, who had come earlier. He had planned to come to Japan temporarily, but as ethnic discrimination worsened in Turkey, he decided to stay in Japan. At the age of 22, she got married, obtained a residence permit, and worked tirelessly to open her own shop. They have three children and have never had any trouble in their hometown. However, since last year, the surrounding environment has completely changed. the man says.
“A photo of my entire family was also posted on social media without permission.

Hate against Kurds became noticeable around last spring. At the time, a bill to amend the Immigration Control and Refugee Law that would have allowed forcible deportation of asylum seekers for the third time or more was being debated in the Diet, and when protests broke out in response, attention focused on the Kurds, who have a large number of asylum seekers. The big turning point was last July. There was an incident in Kawaguchi City where Kurds stabbed each other, and a scuffle broke out as relatives gathered at the hospital where the injured person was being taken. After this uproar, bashing against the Kurds quickly spread. Social media is full of false rumors and slander against the Kurdish people, and a “vigilante group” has been formed to restore the safety and security of Japanese people. Hate demonstrations and street propaganda are also frequent.
It is being done.https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/236278?page=1

写真・図版（2枚目）| 埼玉のクルド人ヘイト「住民よりネット民」多い傾向　YouTubeに感化され脅迫や嫌がらせ | AERA dot. (アエラドット)

埼玉県南部の町で今、クルド人に対するヘイトが増えている。なぜクルド人がターゲットになったのか。AERA 2024年10月14日号より。

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埼玉のクルド人ヘイト「住民よりネット民」多い傾向　YouTubeに感化され脅迫や嫌がらせ | AERA dot. (アエラドット) | AERA dot. (アエラドット)

埼玉県南部の町で今、クルド人に対するヘイトが増えている。なぜクルド人がターゲットになったのか。AERA 2024年10月14日号より。

dot.asahi.com

野村昌二〈コラムニストプロフィール〉 | AERA dot. (アエラドット)

野村昌二〈コラムニストプロフィール〉。朝日新聞出版のニュース・情報サイトです。週刊朝日やAERAに掲載された話題を読むことができます。

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