Japan: Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 2014
5. The Committee recalls that in its concluding observations of 2010, it had requested the State Party “to address all the points raised in the present concluding observations”. Other than responses to the three concerns expressed in paragraphs 12, 20 and 21, as found in the State Party’s follow-up document in 2011, there was no reference to the 2010 concluding observations in its report. The Committee strongly recommends that the State party address all the recommendations contained in this document in its next periodic report. ... 8. While noting that some laws include provisions against racial discrimination, the Committee is concerned that acts and incidents of racial discrimination continue to occur in the State party and that the State party has not yet enacted a specific and comprehensive law on the prohibition of racial discrimination which will enable victims to seek appropriate legal redress for racial discrimination (art. 2). ... 12 The Committee is concerned about reports of unequal treatment of migrants in employment and in access to housing. It is also concerned about reports that the rights of foreign technical interns are violated through the non-payment of proper wages, and that these people are subjected to inordinately long working hours and other forms of exploitation and abuse (art. 5). The Committee recommends that the State party reinforce its legislation in order to firmly combat racial discrimination against migrants in employment and access to housing and improve migrants’ employment status, bearing in mind the Committee’s general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens. The Committee also recommends that the State party take appropriate steps to reform the technical intern training programme in order to protect the working rights of technical interns. ... 15. The Committee is concerned about the continued exclusion of non-citizens on the basis of race or nationality from accessing some public places and facilities of general use, such as restaurants, hotels, family public bathhouses and stores, in violation of articles 2 and 5 of the Convention (arts. 2 and 5). The Committee recommends that the State party take appropriate measures to protect non-citizens from discrimination in access to public places, in particular by ensuring effective application of its legislation. The Committee also recommends that the State party investigate and sanction such acts of discrimination and enhance public awareness-raising campaigns on the requirements of the relevant legislation.