NAN-F-24
Apology
Tokyo, Feb. 21, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) A Japanese kindergarten that has ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie, has apologised over online comments that domestic media described as possible hate speech against Koreans and Chinese people.
The private Tsukamoto kindergarten in Osaka, western Japan, has been visited by Akie Abe and is operated by Moritomo Gakuen.
Moritomo Gakuen is an educational institution that plans to open an elementary school in April with the prime minister’s wife as honorary principal.
The kindergarten apologised after referring to South Korean and Chinese parents on its home page as “irresponsible”.
It wrote on its website that “we apologise for the expression about foreigners that caused misunderstanding.”
The school, however, denounced “unjust, slanderous and defamatory Internet-based articles about this kindergarten” and it said it would keep fighting against “malicious criticism”.
Criticism of Korean residents and Chinese people is common feature of right-wing rhetoric in Japan, where ethnic homogeneity has been a source of pride for many conservatives.
The Osaka prefectural government is considering whether to take action over derogatory expressions about Koreans living in Japan and Chinese used by the kindergarten.
One of Osaka’s official said a Korean and Chinese were used in sending derogatory document to students’ parents in 2016.
The Tsukamoto kindergarten aims to instil in its 3- to 5-year-old students a sense of patriotism with a curriculum focussed on Japanese traditions and culture.
Abe was grilled in parliament last week about possible ties to Moritomo Gakuen, including whether he knew his name had been used to solicit donations for the elementary school. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu