http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/23/national/nationalism-rearing-ugly-head-with-greater-frequency/#.UZ_bUNhCDGg
Angry protesters took to the streets Sunday in Tokyos Shin-Okubo district, home to many Korean shops and restaurants, describing the Korean residents there as cockroaches and calling for their immediate extermination.
It was only the latest in a series of anti-Korean rallies in the neighborhood that have grown more intense in the past few months.
Often spearheaded by the rightwing group Zainichi Tokken wo Yurusanai Shimin no Kai (Zaitokukai), which translates literally as a citizens group that wont tolerate special privileges for Korean and Chinese residents in Japan, these protests have raised eyebrows, especially for their blatant racism and outright death threats.
Some experts say this trend reflects growing public anxiety about the rise of China and South Korea at a time when, despite the recent stock rise and weakening yen, regular people still feel mired in Japans economic malaise.
Organized by a different nationalist group, Sundays demonstration appeared to have been carefully orchestrated and few literal death threats were heard. Still, the bellicose rhetoric remained unabated, with some saying the Korean residents should be Holocausted.
A 25-year-old businessman from Tokyo who said he is a regular participant in such rallies said his repugnance toward Koreans emerged after finding what he described as the ugly truth two years ago while surfing the Internet.
Korean residents in Japan are often using a Japanese alias, so even though they commit a crime, their real name wont be made public, the man, who asked that his name not be used, said, referring to the main theme of Sundays protest.
Another regular participant, a 36-year-old man who declined to give his name, justified the protests as an appropriate way to defend Japans national interests, and demanded the media disclose real names of Korean criminals, otherwise Japanese people will be made a scapegoat for what they did.
The territorial disputes that have recently flared up have fueled a burst of nationalist sentiment, Maeda said, with some people growing dismayed that the Japanese are being stripped of their rights.
Zaitokukai leader Makoto Sakurai and other nationalists have argued that Korean residents of Japan receive preferential treatment not granted to other foreigners. This includes being granted the status of permanent residence and allowed to go by a Japanese alias.
They say its ungrateful of the Koreans to take full advantage of these benefits and yet complain about Japans wartime aggression. Such privileges are glaring in the face of Japans current gloom, as seen in the high suicide rate and lackluster economic growth, they argue.
The rise in nationalism also can be seen on the Internet.
According to data compiled by the office of Kan Suzuki, an Upper House lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Japan, using Tribal Media House Inc.s Internet search tool, online use of xenophobic language has been spiking in the past few months.
Among terms subject to its survey was zainichi (foreign residents of Japan), which, beyond its original meaning, is now being used by rightwing netizens as a derogative reference to Koreans residing in Japan. Daily use of the word zainichi on the Internet, which stood at 7,500 on Dec. 31, rocketed to 25,000 on April 1, according to Suzukis office.