Photo/Illutration The Saitama prefectural assembly building (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

SAITAMA—A Saitama prefectural assembly member came under fire after saying at an Oct. 1 session that “foreigners have no fundamental human rights” in Japan.

Masahide Moroi, 56, later said his wording was insufficient due to time constraints, and that he may ask that the remark be stricken from the official record.

The statement came as Moroi was questioning Saitama Governor Motohiro Ono.

Citing examples of crimes involving foreign nationals, Moroi pressed the governor on his stance toward public safety.

“Regardless of nationality or ethnicity, we will work firmly on public safety,” Ono said.

Moroi countered: “(Foreigners) are legally positioned differently from Japanese people. Fundamental human rights do not exist for foreigners.”

The governor immediately replied, “I do not share the view that foreigners do not have fundamental human rights.”

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Moroi clarified the remark.

“(Foreigners) have fundamental human rights as human beings, but if you ask whether they enjoy the same rights as Japanese people, that’s not the case,” he said. “I ran out of time for questions, and my wording was insufficient.”

Moroi, an independent with a political base in Hanyu city, is currently serving his fifth term in the prefectural assembly.

His remark was criticized by various caucuses within the assembly.

“It is exceedingly lacking in discernment for a prefectural assembly member,” Takumi Tamura, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party caucus, said.

Noriko Shiroshita, head of the Japanese Communist Party caucus, noted that Moroi last year had voted in favor of a prefectural ordinance that guarantees fundamental human rights for all, regardless of race or nationality.

She said his remark to Governor Ono represents a direct contradiction.

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