By TOMONORI ASADA/ Staff Writer
February 13, 2025 at 14:10 JST
Vakkas Cikan, president of the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association, at a news conference in Saitama on Feb. 12 (Tomonori Asada)
SAITAMA—A group of Kurdish residents has sued an organizer of anti-Kurd demonstrations, demanding he cease such “hate speech” activities around its office and pay compensation for damaging its reputation.
The Japan Kurdish Cultural Association said Feb. 12 that it is seeking 5.5 million yen ($36,000) in damages from the man, who lives in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.
“We want to appeal to society to stop pervasive hate speech against Kurds,” Yasuko Morooka, a lawyer representing the group, told a news conference here.
According to the lawsuit, filed with the Saitama District Court on Dec. 27, the man and others organized demonstrations and other activities around the association’s office in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, six times between February and September 2024.
One participant demanded that Kurds be kicked out of Japan. A protest banner said the association is not needed in Japan because it supports suicide terror attacks.
The association said these comments constituted anti-Kurd hate speech.
The group also said the demonstrations slandered its reputation and disturbed its peaceful activities by preventing local residents from gathering at its office.
The lawsuit specifically seeks to prohibit the man from inciting people to grossly insult Kurds and exclude them from the local community within 600 meters of the association’s office.
At the Feb. 12 news conference, Vakkas Cikan, the association’s president, said the group wants to realize a society where ethnic minorities and non-Japanese residents can live without fear.
The defendant has denied engaging in hate speech, according to the association.
In a provisional disposition on Nov. 21, the Saitama District Court prohibited the man’s demonstrations around the association’s office.
According to lawyers representing the association, the man disagreed with the decision and applied for a court order that demands the association file a lawsuit.
The man held an anti-Kurd demonstration on Nov. 24 in front of JR Kawaguchi Station, which was outside the area covered by the court’s interlocutory injunction.
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