Buraku Liberation News, March 1997 issue (N0.95)
3. Court ordered to remove discriminatory stickers.
The Kishiwada Chapter of the Osaka District Court ordered and subsequently executed a provisional injunction to remove discriminatory stickers and graffiti from the wall of a newly constructed house put by Mr Q, the owner of the house.
In the past three years, Q, 49 years old and an employee of NTT, a telecommunication corporation, has been displaying the stickers and graffiti in which he referred to some sixteen people, including Mr Hara, the mayor of Kishiwada City, where he resides, as Eta (extreme filth), a derogatory term often used to discriminate against Buraku people.
Upon noticing the stickers in October 1993, the Osaka Prefectural Federation of the BLL started to demand that he remove them, in coordination with the Dowa Measures Section of the Kishiwada City Government and NTT. However, he continued to refuse to do it.
In spite of repeated efforts for enlightenment and persuasion by the BLL and government agencies concerned, he gave no sign of regret. During the Fact Finding Sessions organized twice by the BLL, Q reiterated discriminatory words not only against Buraku people but also against people with disabilities.
Based on a request by the BLL, the mayor appealed for an injunction before the court to prohibit the displays. The court ordered in the end of 1996 that Q remove all the displays considered as libel and that the court executors remove them at Q's expense, should he not observe the order. The court finally executed a provisional injunction on January 13, 1997.
According to the Osaka Federation, Q once lost a civil case he had filed against a constructor for his new house. After that, he began to denounce the judge and other people involved in the case by using discriminatory words.
Q, however, put up new stickers even after the provisional injunctions were executed. The city government said that they would ask the court executors to remove them again if he continues to ignore the order.
An NTT spokesperson explained that Q never accepted the request to remove the discriminatory objects although the company tried to enlighten him at several occasions.
While appreciating the court order, the Osaka Federation criticized the absence of the law to control the discriminatory incidents, including prohibiting displays of discriminatory expression. They said that they would continue to tackle this incident.