Photo/Illutration The building that houses the Tokyo High Court and the Tokyo District Court (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A Japanese freelance journalist who made derogatory online comments about Kurdish residents in Saitama Prefecture formally apologized to them in a settlement approved by the Tokyo District Court.

Takaaki Ishii, the defendant in a defamation lawsuit, also agreed to retract the offending posts, he said.

The Kurdish plaintiffs, who live in Kawaguchi and nearby areas, argued that Ishii’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, since May 2023 had damaged their reputations.

The terms of the settlement include Ishii’s acknowledgment that his expressions could be perceived as hostile toward Kurds and lead to misunderstandings, resulting in a significant number of people developing prejudices against the Kurdish community.

Ishii recently provided details of the settlement, which was dated Nov. 14.

However, he stated on his website that the settlement “does not acknowledge any illegal conduct on my part.” He added that he intends to continue reporting on immigration issues.

According to the lawsuit, Ishii’s messages on X identified one Kurdish resident and falsely claimed that the individual’s assets were frozen as a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Ishii also shared a photo of Kurdish children accompanied by a comment suggesting they were unruly troublemakers.

The southeastern area of Saitama Prefecture has been home to Kurdish migrants mainly from Turkey since the 1990s, many of whom sought refugee status citing persecution in their homeland.

Today, an estimated 2,000 Kurds live in the region.

In recent years, media coverage of perceived tensions between Kurdish residents and local communities has fueled online backlash against the stateless ethnic group.

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