While racial harassment -- including slurs, jokes, or the targeting of a person due to their race or ethnicity -- is considered offensive and often illegal in many countries around the world, awareness of the problematic phenomenon is still lacking in Japan.

Although no regulations and punishments exist to curb such behavior at Japanese companies and in society at large

There were a record 2.73 million foreign residents living in Japan as of the end of 2018, an increase of 170,000 from the previous year, according to the Justice Ministry. Moreover, some 300,000 foreigners have obtained Japanese citizenship over the past 30 years.

In a 2016 government survey, 30 percent of foreign residents surveyed said they had "frequently" or "occasionally" been the target of discriminatory speech -- 53 percent of whom say such prejudice came from "strangers."

Furthermore, 38 percent said they were subjected to discrimination by superiors, colleagues, or subordinates in the workplace, or by their clients.

There are cases in which employees were forced to relocate or even quit their job after lodging complaints about racial harassment to their companies.

Despite domestic constitutional provisions and international treaty promises, Japan has no law against racial discrimination. Consequently, businesses around Japan display “Japanese Only” signs, denying entry to all 'foreigners' on sight. Employers and landlords routinely refuse jobs and apartments to foreign applicants. Japanese police racially profile 'foreign-looking' bystanders for invasive questioning on the street. Legislators, administrators, and pundits portray foreigners as a national security threat and call for their segregation and expulsion. Nevertheless, Japan’s government and media claim there is no discrimination by race in Japan, therefore no laws are necessary.