First it came out that authorities failed to distribute face masks to a kindergarten at a Korean school. 

Then there was the controversy over sex industry workers being barred from accessing a government subsidy for parents taking time off work over school closures. 

These recent incidents--where public policy makers eventually reviewed coronavirus measures that originally left out certain groups of people--have revealed discrimination by central and local governments. They also reflect a failure in ensuring safeguards against prejudice, according to some observers and experts. 

“It’s not that the outbreak has suddenly triggered a new type of discrimination,” said Yoshimi Kojima, a professor at Aichi Shukutoku University who specializes in non-Japanese student issues. “It’s just the pandemic has brought everyday discrimination and inequality to light.”

The Saitama city government had delivered face masks to day care centers and kindergartens in March as a preventative measure. But workers at a kindergarten affiliated with Saitama Korean Elementary and Middle School were initially excluded.

The municipal government explained at the time the measure did not cover the kindergarten because it is classified under the category of “miscellaneous schools,” which it does not oversee.

But others saw it as counterproductive to fighting the virus.

“The health of students and staff at miscellaneous schools has been held in low regard, and they have been exempted from a law stipulating that medical checkups should be conducted at schools,” said Kojima.

“Discrimination arising from such a conventional way of thinking is taking place even during this health emergency. The coronavirus doesn’t discriminate against people based on their nationality, so this kind of inequality poses a risk to the entire society.”

Authorities provided reasons for not administering the policies to these groups right off the bat. In the case of the mask distribution, the kindergarten is not in the city’s jurisdiction.

As for excluding sex industry workers from the subsidy, the central government’s rationale was that it had simply carried the eligibility criteria over from the rules for the government’s existing subsidy program for maintaining employment.

Sota Kimura, a professor of constitutional law at Tokyo Metropolitan University, said the criteria for judging if a treatment is discriminatory should be “whether the justification is reasonable in light of the policy’s goal.”

“Whether schools are overseen by a local government is irrelevant in (deciding where to) distribute masks, given that its purpose is to prevent infections,” Kimura said.

As previously reported by The Asahi Shimbun, numerous cases of bullying and discrimination have happened against those infected with the coronavirus and people in certain occupations--notably health care workers. Prejudice has also reared its ugly head against visitors to prefectures where the virus has spread.

Discrimination is something usually associated with aggressive attacks, such as hate speech, or stripping people of their fundamental rights. But Kimura regards authorities’ failures to “take a reasonable precaution against discrimination” as another form of discrimination.

“New forms of discrimination have been overlooked because the authorities have failed to take enough measures to prevent discrimination,” said Kimura.

Kimura said one way that governments can proactively safeguard against further discrimination is by providing greater support for hospitals in protecting themselves against the virus. Showing how they are doing that would help avoid giving the impression to the public that health care workers are likely infected.

He said they could also make efforts to send a strong message that discrimination will not be tolerated.

OUTBREAK REVEALS BIASES

A social justice advocate said these prejudicial acts show an inherent bias in the thinking of those in power.

“The underlying cause (of the discrimination) can be attributed to Japan’s lack of respect for the right to live, which is guaranteed (by the Constitution) without condition,” said Haruki Konno, who heads Posse, a nonprofit organization dedicated to tackling labor and poverty issues.

“The authorities provide support for those in need on the condition that they make efforts by themselves or that their employers bear the cost,” he said. "The authorities have a biased view that individuals struggling or suffering from poverty must have caused their own problems.”

That is why the basic stance of social welfare service providers is to scrutinize applicants to prevent welfare fraud, Konno said.

He expressed concerns that governments will not change that stance significantly, even though the number of people struggling is surging amid the outbreak.

He said authorities may place an importance on following strict procedures for providing livelihood assistance to needy people, when they should be acting quickly because of the urgent need. He also worries governments could fail to reach out to vulnerable populations by allowing only “reliable” companies and households access to cash handouts.

In other words, the current public health emergency has shown that anyone can be a target of discrimination and a person’s right to life could be jeopardized at any moment in Japanese society.

But there is a glimmer of hope for those who want to see change, since public outcry over some discriminatory measures led to speedy policy reversals.

“People need to demand improved measures by voicing opposition to each (problematic) one,” Kimura said, adding people cannot afford to wait for their urgent problems amid the crisis to be solved by lawsuits.